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Aaron J. Fentress: Damian Lillard's agent Aaron Goodwin on his client leaving Milwaukee and his future: “It’s an incredible opportunity for Damian. He receives all of his money guaranteed, and it provides him an opportunity to decide his next destination as an unrestricted free agent. He gets a chance to rehab at home if he chooses to, and be with his family and his kids for the next year. The goal is for him to take his time and make a decision on what his next destination will be.” Needless to say, Lillard is receiving heavy interest from around the NBA.
Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard has agreed to a lifetime contract extension with Adidas, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. As Lillard's deal with Adidas expired during last offseason, his representative, Aaron Goodwin of Goodwin Sports Management, has been negotiating a new deal with company officials. Lillard starred alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo to help lead the Bucks to the NBA Cup championship on Tuesday night in Las Vegas. Lillard is averaging 25.7 points, 7.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game this season.
DeMar DeRozan, who league sources say explored scenarios with the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs and Warriors in search of a market value deal, had grown more fond of the Sacramento idea as time went on. His longtime agent, Aaron Goodwin, flew with him from his hometown in Los Angeles to Sacramento, then drove him around the city and suburbs to give him a sense of what the area had to offer.
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Milt Newton: "When we had the opportunity to get Dame, we had conversations with Aaron Goodwin, his agent. Everyone thought Dame was going to Miami, but Aaron said, 'Dame wants to win, and he wants to play with Giannis. Would you guys have interest?' Of course, we had interest. So we started talking to Portland, and when they told us what it would take, we were like, 'Wow, that’s a lot,' but we were getting a top 75 player in the history of the game."
Sean Cunningham: DeMar DeRozan, the newest King, cheered as a hero as he enters Sacramento's Golden 1 Center for tonight's California Classic with owner Vivek Ranadive. He meets Devin Carter and sits alongside his longtime agent Aaron Goodwin.
DeMar DeRozan, the newest King, cheered as a hero as he enters Sacramento's Golden 1 Center for tonight's California Classic with owner Vivek Ranadive. He meets Devin Carter and sits alongside his longtime agent Aaron Goodwin. pic.twitter.com/455B4efGLc
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) July 7, 2024
So all the whispers about trade possibilities or his expiring contract, well, that’s for the outside world to work through and decipher. DeRozan’s mentality? “This is work time,” the veteran said on Saturday. “I don’t want to hear (bleep), to be honest with you. I’ve been with my agent (Aaron Goodwin) my whole career, and him knowing me like he does, people around me know how I am when it comes down to that kind of stuff. Same thing with family stuff back home – if it isn’t an emergency or something serious, I don’t want to hear about it, I don’t need to know about it.”
Before Lillard could read the photo caption, his phone rang. It was his agent, Aaron Goodwin, telling him he had been traded to the Bucks. About a week earlier, Lillard and Goodwin had discussed teams besides the Heat that Lillard would be open to -- since conversations with Miami had for months been unproductive -- and he had warmed to the idea of playing with Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, sources told ESPN. But it was just an idea, very quietly discussed and passed along. "Boom! Just like that," he says. "Then as I was talking to AG, I saw I had a text from Joe saying, 'Just tried you.' "I guess he tried to call me, but I didn't see it. Honestly, I didn't even look to see if he called me after that. It was done. I was just like, 'Whatever.' "I had to move on."
When did Milwaukee seriously get in your picture and why? Damian Lillard: A couple weeks ago, probably about two weeks ago. Obviously, I didn’t know what was going to happen. Things were up in the air. I mentioned I wanted to go to Miami. I felt like it was a great situation for me and my agent [Aaron Goodwin] was just like, ‘Man, Milwaukee is probably the best basketball situation for you. What you think about Milwaukee?’ And I told him, ‘I love Giannis. I think it’s a great opportunity for me, but let’s see.’ And I left it to him. So, I knew weeks ago that there was a possibility that it could happen. I just didn’t know how [it happens]. So, when it happened, I was like, ‘man, it actually came back.’
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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 getting involved in potential deals behind the scenes.
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.
On a call between Lillard’s agent, Aaron Goodwin, and Blazers general manager Joe Cronin earlier this month, it was communicated that Lillard would be content rejoining Portland for training camp. Lillard let the Blazers know he was willing to be fully present for the start of the 2023-24 season, if only to give the organization more time to work toward a potential trade with the Heat, sources briefed on those conversations say. But Cronin, according to league sources, expressed skepticism about that approach. The Blazers, quite clearly, were determined to get a deal done before the start of camp.
Marc J. Spears: Sources to @andscape: With Miami talks going nowhere, agent Aaron Goodwin privately told the Bucks and Nets 10 days ago that Dame would be interested in a deal there. The Raptors were a real contender to land the ex-Blazers star, but ultimately Bucks got it done per Woj report.
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