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作者: Chris Haynes
http://psce.pw/5a7fwm

Inside the Messy Divorce Between Damian Lillard and Portland Trail Blazers

Damian Lillard received word of his new destination shortly after 11 a.m. PST
Wednesday.

Lillard was speechless. A few minutes later, he briefly explained what he was
feeling.

"I'm just letting it sink in," Lillard told Bleacher Report minutes after
news broke that he was going to be a member of the Milwaukee Bucks. "I'm just
trying to process it all. It's a lot to think about. Never been in this
situation before."

Where he was going—and where he wasn't going—was a shock to the basketball
world, but it wasn't necessarily a shock to Lillard considering how the
previous few months had gone.

Since July, the Portland Trail Blazers had refused to engage with the Miami
Heat, the preferred destination Lillard requested when he asked for a trade
on July 1 from the Blazers.

"How this summer played out behind the scenes definitely left a sour taste in
my mouth," Lillard told B/R. "But it doesn't change the amazing experiences
I've had with the Trail Blazers and this city. I'll always cherish this
place. This is my home. I'll always live here regardless."

Prior to Lillard's trade request, Portland had publicly and privately vowed
to do everything in its power to build a title contender around the
seven-time All-Star. But he believed their actions and moves—or lack thereof
—indicated the franchise wanted to undergo a rebuild.

Damian Lillard在西岸時間早上11點後不久之後知道了他的下家。

Lillard一時無語。幾分鐘之後，他簡短的表達了自己的感受。

Lillard在成為密爾瓦基公鹿的一員後說:「我正在慢慢沉澱情緒。我正在試圖處理這一切
。很多事情要想，我從未經歷過這種情況。」

無論他要去哪還是不去哪都震驚著整個籃球界，但在過往幾個月後對Lillard來說卻不震撼
。

七月以來，拓荒者一直拒絕與邁阿密熱火合作，但熱火一直是Lillard自七月一日申請交易
後的首選去處。




Getting Personal

The last time Portland and Miami communicated was at Summer League in July
via phone between Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin and Heat senior
vice president of basketball operations and general manager Andy Elisburg.
Miami hoped to schedule an in-person meeting while in Las Vegas to discuss
trade scenarios, but that meeting never materialized.

Portland made it clear through the media it would take the best offer for
Lillard and wouldn't be limited to just Miami. In return, Lillard's agent,
Aaron Goodwin, relayed to teams that Lillard would not be content if Portland
traded him to a team other than Miami.

The Trail Blazers felt they were being pressured into what they deemed to be
an unfavorable starting point in negotiations. The NBA stepped in and warned
Goodwin that Lillard could be "subject to discipline" if Lillard's camp
continued to disrupt quality offers Portland could field.

"I wanted everyone to understand that even though we didn't have a no-trade
clause, a provision that's not afforded to Dame under the CBA, I was going to
do everything in my power to control the market and help get my client to a
place he wanted to be," Goodwin told B/R.

The Heat say they never had a legitimate opportunity to negotiate. Throughout
the process, they felt Portland allowed emotions to get in the way of
business. Lillard's camp believed it had become personal.

Miami believes it could have included a third team and netted the Trail
Blazers up to three first-round picks with the inclusion of Tyler Herro.

Frustrated with the lack of suitable offers, sources say the Trail Blazers
ceased all communication with Lillard and Goodwin in early September.
Portland's rationale for keeping them in the dark was to prevent Goodwin from
sabotaging potential deals behind the scenes.

For approximately three weeks, calls and texts to the Trail Blazers from
Lillard and Goodwin went unanswered.



拓荒者通過媒體明確表示會尋求最好的報價且不會限制在邁阿密。作為回擊，Lillard經紀
人Aaron Goodwin告訴各隊Lillard如果不是去熱火他不會滿足。

拓荒者感受到了他們在交易談判中被迫接受不利條件的壓力。NBA在此時介入並警告
Goodwin如果Lillard團隊繼續干擾拓荒者去接受最好的報價，那將會受到處分。



熱火本來認為他們可以加入第三方並讓拓荒者拿到Tyler Herro與三個選秀權。



No Going Back
In late August, Goodwin suggested to Cronin that he meet with Lillard to mend
the relationship in case his client were to return to the team. Cronin
agreed, and they met at Lillard's Portland-area mansion on Sept. 5. It was
the first time the two had spoken in quite some time.

With a little less than a month away from training camp opening, the two sat
in the entertainment center of Lillard's home and the meeting lasted about an
hour.

Lillard expressed his disappointment with how his situation had been handled,
citing his steadfast commitment to the organization over the years. He
questioned why there was no dialogue with Miami and expressed how it would be
disheartening to be sent somewhere against his wishes.

According to sources, Portland had asked Lillard to sit out the final 10
games of the 2022-23 regular season to help the franchise improve its lottery
odds. He was told the higher the draft pick, the better chance they had at
using the pick to facilitate a trade for a proven veteran player. He
reluctantly acquiesced to being shut down, citing a "calf injury."

Portland went 1-9 to finish the season and would go on to win the No. 3 pick
and select Scoot Henderson, a promising young point guard the team planned to
keep.

In the Sept. 5 meeting, Cronin conveyed that if he was forced to do a deal
with Miami, he had every intention of going after every attractable asset.
Lillard knew then he was unlikely to end up in Miami.



在距離訓練營不到一個月的時間，兩個人坐在Lillard家的娛樂中心並開了一小時左右的會
議。





最後10場拓荒者以1-9的戰績結束了賽季並獲得了探花籤、選擇了Scoot Henderson並計畫
留下他。

在9月5號的會議中，Cronin表示如果被迫要與熱火作交易，那他將會爭取每一個具有吸引
力的資產。Lillard那個時候就知道他不太可能去熱火了。

Lillard then said if a deal couldn't be worked out with the Heat, he would
prefer to rescind his trade request and return to the Trail Blazers.

Cronin's response to the seven-time All-Star was that there was no coming
back.

Lillard was shocked, sources said. He said it was discouraging to hear he
couldn't return, but added that he didn't want to be somewhere he wasn't
wanted, and he ended the meeting.

Lillard was still hopeful a deal with the Heat was within reach. However, he
had to face the realization that he might not be moved.

So on Sept. 11, he started showing up at the Trail Blazers' practice facility
to work out. He went in for eight days. He said Cronin did not address him
once.

"I went into the facility because I was still on the roster and usually that
time of the year is when team activities start to pick up as a group. I
wasn't confident I would be moved so I showed up to be in the mix," Lillard
told B/R.

"I didn't go there to cause any problems," Lillard continued. "That's not my
character. If they felt that way, it wasn't my intent. I was just trying to
get acclimated and everyone was happy to see me. Every single person except
Joe. He never spoke to me. And when I noticed that, I made up in my mind that
I'm not going out my way to speak to him."

也因此，Lillard說如果沒辦法去到熱火，他寧願撤回交易申請並回到拓荒者。

Cronin對這位7次全明星球員說他不可能回來了。

Lillard感到震驚。他表示他對於聽到自己不能回去了感到非常沮喪，但他補充他不想待在
一個不歡迎他的地方並結束了會議。

Lillard仍希望拓荒者與熱火之間的交易是可能的，但他必須面對他可能不會被送走的現實
。

因此，從9月11日開始，Lillard連續8天去到了拓荒者的訓練設施訓練。但Cronin一次也沒
有與他交談。




A Contingency Plan
With the situation getting uglier, Goodwin began orchestrating a contingency
plan. He met with his client on Sept. 17 and went over other viable options
that fit the team criteria they sought. Milwaukee and Brooklyn were the
alternative targets.

Over the last few years, Bucks general manager Jon Horst checked in routinely
with Portland on the availability of Lillard. The Bucks always had an
affinity for Llillard, as did franchise star star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Antetokounmpo and Lillard had flirted in recent years with the idea of
teaming up together. But the hangup was always the same: both stars wanted
the other to come to their team.

隨著局勢變得更加惡劣，Goodwin開始準備備案。他在9月17日時與他的客戶見面並討論其
他符合團隊標準的選項。公鹿與籃網便成為了備選目標。

在過去幾年，公鹿總管Jon Horst定期的與拓荒者確認Lillard是否能被交易。公鹿一直以
來都對Lillard情有獨鍾並希望他能與隊史球星Giannis Antetokoumpo一起打球。

Antetokoumpo與Lillard近年來一直考慮他們組對的想法。但結果永遠都一樣:他們都想要
對方來到自己的球隊。

Moving in Silence
Deeper into September, things had become so contentious between Lillard's
camp and the Blazers that the NBA league office intervened.

On Sept. 23, a Zoom meeting was organized by the NBA featuring league
officials, Cronin, a team attorney, Lillard, Goodwin, and Ron Klempner, the
general counsel for the National Basketball Players Association. The meeting
was scheduled with the purpose of opening up the lines of communication
between the Trail Blazers and Lillard's camp. The session got volatile at
certain junctures, with both sides expressing their trust issues with the
other.

At the end of the session, Cronin promised to do a better job communicating.
In the days ahead, Cronin and Goodwin started communicating again.

No one at that point suspected Milwaukee as a real threat to land Lillard,
and developments were quiet. The franchise already had a championship nucleus
intact, and the front office wanted to protect relations with Jrue Holiday, a
player whom the Bucks hold in the highest regard.

隨著越來越接近9月底，Lillard團隊與拓荒者之間的摩擦越來越劇烈以至於NBA必須要介入
處理。


在會議結束時，Cronin承諾了他會在溝通方面做得更好。在接下來幾天，Cronin與Goodwin
又重新開始了溝通。

當時並沒有人認為公鹿會是買下Lillard的有力競爭者且整件事情都非常低調。這支球隊早
已有個NBA冠軍核心，但管理層想要保護他們與Jrue Holiday--這名公鹿高度尊重的球員
--之間的關係。

'My Brother for Life'
Cronin elected to go with the Milwaukee package in a three-team blockbuster,
pulling off the biggest transaction of his brief reign as general manager.
His haul: Deandre Ayton, Holiday, Toumani Camara, a 2029 unprotected
first-round pick, and two first-round swap rights with Milwaukee.

For Milwaukee, it's all about giving Giannis Antetokounmpo the best possible
shot at another championship. Antetokounmpo spoke to B/R about losing Holiday
and acquiring a new star teammate in Lillard.

"Jrue is my f--king brother for life. I love his family. I love him. I
appreciate him. I wish him nothing but the best. He blessed me with a f--king
championship," Antetokounmpo told B/R. "He's the one who made that huge steal
in Game 5 of the Finals. I went to battle with him multiple times. F--k
basketball. F--k the media shit. This guy is my brother for life, and it's
always going to be like that. He's going to thrive wherever he ends up.

It was clear that the moment is bittersweet for Antetokounmpo, who has
genuine admiration for both players.

"Now at the same time, I'm excited to have Dame. He gives us a chance to win
a championship. I'm excited to play with the caliber of player that he is. He
can score the ball in his sleep and shoot the lights out.

"It's a bittersweet day for the city of Milwaukee. You get Dame, who is a
great player, but you lose a great guy. Jrue took us to the promised land.
I'm 10 years in now. I know it's a business. At the end of the day, Jrue will
alway be be my brother for life. He's one of the best human beings I've been
around. But we've got to focus on the goal to win the championship. Dame
wants this. He's hungry to win, and he's going to push us. I'm very happy to
have him on our team."

This deal gives Lillard the greatest opportunity he's ever had to capture
that elusive championship. He has never played with this much talent. It
positions the Bucks to be among the title favorites, and they now arguably
have the best duo in the NBA.

"My whole life I've been on underdog teams and if we had a good season, we
overachieved. Now I'll be able to play with a player that's better than me
and to be a part of a great overall team is a dream come true," Lillard told
B/R. "That's never been my experience. It's time for me to be in this
situation. And knowing myself enough, I'm going to take advantage of it. I'm
excited for this opportunity."

When the deal was announced, one of the first text messages Lillard received
was from Antetokounmpo.

It read, "Let's get this f--king championship."

That's all Lillard ever wanted.



對公鹿來說，這一切都是為了給Antetokoumpo提供能再一次拿下冠軍的機會。


對Antetokoumpo來說這一切甜苦交織。他對兩個球員都有真誠的敬意。



這個交易提供給Lillard一次獲得那難以捉摸的冠軍的最佳機會。他從未與這麼多天賦一起
打球過。這使的公鹿現在是個冠軍熱門之一。他們擁有可能是NBA最強的二人組。



當這個交易被宣布時，Lillard最先收到的簡訊之一便是來自Antetokoumpo的。

簡訊上寫著:

「讓我們去贏得這他媽的總冠軍吧。」

這就是Lillard一直以來想要的。

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※ 作者: EZ78 2023-09-29 09:37:55
※ 文章代碼(AID): #1b5YfrAk (NBA)
※ 文章網址: https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/NBA/M.1695951477.A.2AE.html