It’s been days since Damian Lillard finally requested a trade out of thePortland Trail Blazers. But as usually happens in the NBA, things are taking some time to solve themselves.
The Blazers are doing right by trying to find the best trade offer for their superstar player. Likewise, Lillard is doing his own thing, trying to force himself to his preferred destination.
It took him eleven years to finally make the decision to leave Rip City. And now that he’s openly said that he wants to play for the Miami Heat, Blazers GM Joe Cronin admitted that the organization failed him.
Blazers GM Admits He Failed Damian Lillard
“I don’t feel that I did everything I could because I didn’t get done what I needed to get done,’’ Cronin said. “In that sense, I do feel like I failed Dame. Our goal was to win now as quickly as possible. If he didn’t feel that way, it was a failure on my end.’’
“Dame is obviously a very important person and player to us. What the rest of his career looks like matters to us, and we care about that,’’ Cronin addedd. “At the same time, we have to do what’s best for us. We’ve got to find the right deal and find the right makeup of the team we are going to build forward with. You hope you find that perfect situation where that lines up and he goes to a place he wants to and you get the best return possible. It’s complicated, and usually doesn’t work out just like that — It’s possible, but there is a lot of work involved.’’
But even if he feels like he let him down, that doesn’t mean he’s going to take a penny on the dollar just to cut him loose. The Heat will need to pay up if they really want him or he’s just not going to be traded there.
