Pat Riley Never Called Back The Blazers For Damian Lillard
Pat Riley Never Called Back The Blazers For Damian Lillard
In what many are calling a disappointing day for Heat fans, and a monumental failure by Pat Riley and the front office, it appears a simple phone call could have kept negotiations going.
Per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald, Miami never re-engaged with Portland. Riley did not want to improve his offer as it appears he felt as though his offer was the best one for the Blazers.
Also, the moment the Heat found out they weren’t getting Lillard is when the public found out. To say the communication between most sides was lacking is an understatement, especially given the fact that Pat Riley never called back the Blazers to continue talks.
The Trail Blazers decided to move to the Milwaukee Bucks after it was clear as day to them that Pat Riley was not going to budge, or at least shown great hesitance in moving significant assets.
This isn’t the first time Heat fans have been let down by not getting a major superstar, Kevin Durant during his trade demands with the Brooklyn Nets caused massive waves. There were rumors of him going to Miami, but that was before Mat Ishbia took over and made Brooklyn a deal they couldn’t refuse.
With all that said, Milwaukee ends up with Damian Lillard, Phoenix ends up with Jusuf Nurkic, and Portland ends up with Deandre Ayton and Jrue Holiday.
