As the saying goes, “it takes two to tango.” Raptors president Masai Ujiri echoed a similar sentiment while addressing the swirling rumors that had his team linked to former Blazers star Damian Lillard.
During the team’s media day on Monday, Ujiri was asked about the team’s interest in Lillard. While he said Toronto will “always” put themselves in a position to have an opportunity when these types of deal came along, he had one comment that jumped out above the rest, as Adam Laskaris of the Daily Hive Toronto reported.
"Sometimes these things are sensationalized in a way that gets people a little bit too anxious. We're always going to put ourselves in the right place to have opportunity when these things come along. I think there's a reason why our names always mentioned [in trade rumours].... we are aggressive... it takes two to make a deal.... we will continue to attack those things. The right one will come,” Ujiri said.
Much of the response is about what you’d expect a team president to say, but Ujiri’s comment that “it takes two to make a deal,” stands out amid the rumors on how Portland reportedly went about discussions with the Heat.
Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire
After it was reported that Miami and Portland spoke about a deal after Lillard’s initial trade request in July, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reported communication between the two was “very limited” since then, per league sources. He also reported the Blazers never re-engaged the Heat prior to accepting the Bucks’ offer.
For good measure, this wasn’t the first reference to the comment “it takes two to get a deal done,” which was also recited by Lillard’s agent, Aaron Goodwin when asked about the Heat’s pursuit of the guard, per the Miami Herald.
“They did everything they could to acquire Dame. It takes two to get a deal done. I appreciate all that Pat [Riley], Andy [Elisburg] and Micky [Arison] did to try and make this happen.” Goodwin said.
The comments across the board are all noteworthy, but it also points to the fact that Portland remained steadfast in what they wanted in return for Lillard, and were more than willing to sit tight until it came to fruition.
