How did Bucks swoop in, pull off blockbuster Damian Lillard trade?

It appeared to come out of left field. While the national discourse had been about what kind of package the Toronto Raptors would put together for Damian Lillard and would the Trail Blazers have to engage the Heat, in swooped the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team trade with the Suns and will pair Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo to form one of the most formidable rosters in the NBA.

How did this deal come together under the radar? Here is a breakdown of what happened.

• When Lillard first made his trade request and listed only the Miami Heat as a preferred destination, the two sides engaged to see if a deal could be found. Portland’s first ask was for either Jimmy Butler or Bad Adebayo, reports Shams Charania and Sam Amick at The Athletic, news which has garnered more headlines than it probably deserved. The first step in any negotiation is to ask for the moon, and so the Trail Blazers did, the Heat said no, and that’s standing operating procedure.

• However, from there the talks between the sides never really gained traction and started to become a little contentious. Miami kept its initial offers low (again, how negotiations work), and with the NBA entering vacation time for front offices, no other teams were seriously engaging Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin. So he waited. Miami ultimately came back with an offer of three first-round picks, multiple second-rounders and pick swaps, Tyler Herro (routed to a third team) and Nikola Jovic, the Athletic reports. However, Portland had moved on and Miami felt they never seriously wanted to do business with them anyway.

• Miami, Toronto and other teams also wanted to keep some of their powder dry in case Antetokounmpo decided to bolt Milwaukee and would be on the trade block in a year. Portland was not getting teams’ best offers. (Antetokounmpo bolting the Bucks seems a much longer shot now.)

• Antetokounmpo’s multiple comments this summer about possibly not signing an extension and prioritizing winning — something that had some league sources telling NBC Sports that they thought he was as good as gone — make the Bucks front office realize they needed a blockbuster move. So they reached out to Portland in early September and the sides talked most of the month, but both front offices kept the circles small and leaked nothing, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on his network.

• Lillard’s agent Aaron Goodwin spoke to the star about other possible destinations besides Miami and they passed along to the Trail Blazers that the Bucks and Nets could be added to the list.

• In addition to the early talks with the Heat plus the Bucks, the Trail Blazers had some level of conversation with the Celtics, Pelicans, Raptors, Timberwolves and Bulls, The Athletic reports. However, many of the contenders were concerned about gutting their roster to acquire Lillard and not having enough left to contend.

• While all this was happening, the Portland front office had another series of discussions with the Phoenix front office about a possible Deandre Ayton for Jusuf Nurkic swap, talks that started in July, according to The Athletic. Whatever had happened with the Lillard trade, the Ayton/Nurkic portion of the deal would have come together in some form, both sides were committed, league sources confirmed to NBC Sports.

• When the three-team trade with the Bucks, Suns and Trail Blazers went down it caught most league executives by surprise, reports Jake Fischer at Yahoo Sports.

• The Bucks acquiring Lillard could set off an arms race in the East, with other contenders such as Boston and Miami already engaged in talks with Portland about Jrue Holiday. The Bucks — a 58-win team a year ago and a clear title contender before trading for Lillard — are now the bar to clear in the East, and other teams will be looking for help now and at the trade deadline.