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Anyone who closely watched the Damian Lillard era in Milwaukee knew that it never quite hit its full potential. While the team had a clear path to greatness with arguably the most talented duo in the league, Lillard was clearly trying to make the best of a difficult situation personally and professionally.
Whichever direction you want to assign blame remains in the eyes of the beholder. The Bucks' front office, head coach Doc Rivers, his running mate, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Dame himself are all in the mix. Nonetheless, there never seemed to be too many hard feelings when it was time to move on.
Yet, there were always some unresolved questions surrounding Dame's exit, and the future Hall of Famer added some fuel to that fire himself when he replied to a Heat fan on Twitter who poked fun at him for not going to Greece to bond with Giannis like his new teammate, Davion Mitchell, was seen doing. Lillard quote-tweeted the paragraph and said, "lol mfs don’t want Dame to tell it. Be thankful I ain’t running my mouth like these other suckas… carry on"
That doesn't sound like someone who thinks the whole story has been told. So while Dame won't air out the dirty laundry just yet, it certainly left Bucks fans wondering how much of the situation was fully relayed to the public, and which bits are still being left behind closed doors.
The Damian Lillard era in Milwaukee was a mess, but what really spurred his departure from the Bucks?
There's a strong argument that the team tried to fit a square peg into a round hole, and it's as simple as that. He clearly wanted to be somewhere else, but learned the hard way that you're not always going to get the exact outcome you want when negotiating a trade request, as Lillard wound up in a city that was far down on his list of acceptable destinations after seemingly coming within grasp of a move to his preferred destination in Miami.
It was also noted throughout the process that Lillard was going through some personal struggles that put a wet blanket on his time in Milwaukee. These are the type of personal struggles that would've carried over regardless of where he was traded.
But what Dame tweeted tells a little bit of a different story. To put things into his own words, why wouldn't MFs want Dame to tell it? Probably because Dame's perspective would shed light on some dysfunction in Milwaukee that he never wanted to be a part of in the first place.
There are probably some layers to the Giannis/Dame relationship that we'll never understand. They clearly had a certain level of respect for each other as men and legendary talents, sharing some unforgettable on-court moments as a duo. But they also seemed unwilling to truly sacrifice for each other, and didn't have a coach who was motivated enough himself to make it gel.
Meanwhile, there was a mix of personalities and the looming threat of exactly what unfolded — Giannis' departure from Milwaukee. Could Dame be referring to some of the seeds that were laid during his Bucks tenure for Giannis' exit, or the ongoing power struggle between his representation and Milwaukee's leadership? Outside of Giannis, Dame, Doc, GM Jon Horst, and Bucks ownership, who's really to say?
But the fact that Dame is keeping his lips sealed while others are running their mouths tells us one thing for sure: there are some things about the short-lived Giannis/Dame era that we won't get to learn about until their jerseys are in the rafters.
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This article was originally published on dairylandexpress.com as Damian Lillard hints at untold truths from his short-lived Bucks tenure.
