After taking up nearly the entire offseason, the Portland Trail Blazers finally moved off of Damian Lillard.
It was a blockbuster three-team deal where the Blazers sent out Lillard and received Jrue Holiday and Deandre Ayton from the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns, respectively.
Portland was able to also net a few draft assets from Milwaukee to help them rebuild down the line.
It was a surprising move considering most of the reporting had the Blazers sending Lillard to either the Miami Heat or the Toronto Raptors in recent days.
However, Portland got the return they apparently desired and now have clarity on their roster heading into the 2023-24 NBA season.
Although the Trail Blazers found a deal they liked, sending Lillard to a team other than the Heat rubbed people like Robert Griffin III the wrong way as he ripped off a take via his Twitter account.
“Dame wanted to go to Miami and they sent this man to Milwaukee. Gonna be fun to watch with Giannis but that’s dirty work by Portland,” Griffin tweeted.
Dame wanted to go to Miami and they sent this man to Milwaukee. Gonna be fun to watch with Giannis but that’s dirty work by Portland.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) September 27, 2023
Organizations aren’t under any obligation to send a star player to their preferred landing spot when they demand a trade, though Griffin is probably upset about it because of how loyal Lillard was to the team until the end.
There are several examples of superstars asking out to go to specific teams and later getting traded to a place that wasn’t on their list.
In this case, Portland did what it felt like was best for them moving forward, though to Griffin’s point, one can’t say for sure whether or not this wasn’t some sort of retaliation.
NEXT: Deandre Ayton Is Already Embracing The Trail Blazers
