Damian Lillard found his new home when went from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Milwaukee Bucks in a blockbuster NBA trade last week. For just a moment earlier this summer, Lillard thought he was headed north of the border, thanks to a prank from a friend.
Speaking with TNT's Chris Haynes, Lillard revealed that Toronto Raptors forward O.G. Anunoby pulled a fast one on him. Lillard said that Anunoby texted him out of the blue, welcoming him to Toronto.
"Obviously, everything was up in the air," Lillard said. "I was on the phone, and I just got a random text from OG like, 'Welcome to Toronto.'"
Lillard said that he and Anunoby train together in the offseason, and the latter decided to have some fun with all the trade rumors swirling around in the summer. Lillard quickly tried to call Anunoby to get more information out of him, but the Raptors forward didn't pick up. Once he did, all Lillard heard was laughter.
"He is always messing around, joking and stuff like that," Lillard said. "We train together in the summer a little bit. So he texted me like, 'Welcome to Toronto.' I was like, let me call this dude and see. I finally called him, and he didn't answer. He called me back and he was laughing."
Lillard did wind up in the same conference as the Raptors, so Anunoby got that part right. Coming off his seventh All-Star season, Lillard will join forces with Giannis Antetokounmpo as the Bucks search for their second title in four years.
