Trade discussions between Jon Horst and Joe Cronin involving Damian Lillard began in early July, reported Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Horst was adamant about keeping the discussions a secret as he didn’t want the Blazers to use Jrue Holiday as leverage in other negotiations.
The Blazers, who were looking to acquire Deandre Ayton even before trading Lillard, kept the Suns and team CEO Josh Bartelstein in the dark about their negotiations with the Bucks.
Cronin told Bartelstein the general salary and position of the player the Suns would be acquiring in a potential three-team deal involving Ayton and Jusuf Nurkic.
The Suns, who were looking for one more piece alongside Nassir Little, Keon Johnson, and Nurkic, deduced they would be receiving either Grayson Allen or Victor Oladipo before Cronin confirmed that the Bucks were the third mystery team.