Damian Lillard. You likely heard that name a lot during the NBA offseason.
It certainly wasn't the first summer where Lillard was mentioned in trade rumors. It was, however, the first time Lillard requested to be dealt away from the Portland Trail Blazers. As a result, there were no shortage of various rumors, storylines, and more. For the most part, Lillard has avoided drama during his career. But doing so this past offseason was nearly impossible.
Lillard acknowledged that some people may feel a different way about him following his trade request, especially since he initially made it clear he wanted to only be traded to a specific team in the Miami Heat. That obviously changed as the Blazers ended up trading Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Damian Lillard doesn't mind the backlash though, something he discussed during a recent interview, via SiriusXM NBA Radio.
Damian Lillard speaks out
“I think, for one, everybody has their time,” Lillard said. “Everybody has their time… you gonna get some backlash, some slander whether that's because you did something negative or you did something that people don't agree with. You know, nobody's going to be loved all the time. I can accept that because I'm strong in who I am… I didn't feel like I needed to defend myself.”
As mentioned earlier, Lillard originally wanted to be traded to only the Heat. He felt that Miami would give him a chance to win, but it would also present a challenge. Joining a juggernaut was out of the question for him, but getting traded to the Heat made sense.
It didn't end up working out though. Damian Lillard addressed the Heat situation during the interview.
Lillard on Heat trade request
“I don't think it was a secret that Miami was where I wanted to go when I asked for a trade,” Damian Lillard continued. “When this conversation even started, where it was like ‘we aren't going to be able to build this team out, we'll help you get to where you want to go.' And that was where I wanted to go at that time.
“I was like, ‘okay, this is where I want to go. You said you would help me get to where I want to go.' It got to the point where it was like no communication to that team. I feel like that was more so trying to start some dialogue to that team more so than ‘I'm not gonna show up.' Like I was going to show up regardless… I don't know any other way.”
Lillard added that although people may look at him differently now, he's never tried to have an image. Rather, he said “what you see is what you get.”
How about all of the rumors/reports?
There were plenty of rumors and trade reports throughout the offseason. Damian Lillard addressed all of those as well.
“I was looking at a lot of people reporting. And a lot of people saying things that I literally don't know. So they don't know me, this is just like… these are just people that report on the NBA, they know the way of the NBA and how things typically go. Because they don't know me at all, they just assume this is another case of… somebody's disgruntled. They doing this behind closed doors, they saying this to this person.
“I will say anything on camera that I have to say about whatever situation. It wasn't a concern of mine.”
Damian Lillard preparing for new chapter with Bucks
Finally, Damian Lillard can settle in and focus purely on basketball. The Bucks will have pressure on them now with Lillard joining Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. Winning is of the utmost importance heading into the new season.
Milwaukee is going to be a good team. The East features plenty of other contenders, so nothing will come easy. The Lillard-Giannis duo projects to be lethal though. Adding Middleton into the conversation only helps matters.
It was a wild summer for Lillard, and he will look to lead his new team to a championship.
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