Rumors

Goodwin communicated to the Blazers that Lillard would stay in Portland, but after months of speculation, the team wanted to resolve the request by training camp, sources told ESPN. With a week to go, Lillard was traded to Milwaukee. "More than anything, it was miscommunications and misunderstandings," Lillard said. "Joe and I never talked about [a potential return]. It just sat out there and we let it be what it was, I think that was the mistake." But just a few months after the trade, steps toward a potential reunion started to take shape. Goodwin and Cronin had a conversation in January, where they identified the gaps in their communication and said that if there were any hard feelings, they had long since dissipated.

ESPN

In late June 2023, agent Aaron Goodwin called Blazers GM Cronin to confirm what was already all over social media: His client Damian Lillard wanted out. With Portland not even a playoff team, Lillard wanted to leave to try to win a championship. After 11 seasons, he believed he’d earned the opportunity. Within minutes, a conference call had been convened. Allen said that the club should honor Lillard’s wishes, but in a way that fulfilled the long-term interests of the franchise. “Jody gave us clear direction to explore all options, to explore them with rational thinking and to think outside the box,” Hankins says.

Sports Business Journal

Shams Charania: Damian Lillard now will have a 2025-26 set salary of $70M between his Portland and Milwaukee deals, and a salary of $141M over the next two years ahead of an opt-out in 2027. Blazers officials and Aaron Goodwin of Goodwin Sports Management are finalizing terms this week.

x.com

Oh No He Didn't: Chris Haynes: "Aaron Goodwin, Damian Lillard's agent about a month ago reached out to the Bucks and informed them that Dame would like to rehab back home in Portland and stay with his kids...and I was told that some people within the Bucks did not approve of that"

bsky.app

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.

Twitter

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.

ESPN

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.

New York Times

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."

YouTube

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.

Twitter

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.”

Chicago Sun-Times

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."

ESPN

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.’

Andscape

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.

Bleacher Report

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.

Bleacher Report