Dame and Giannis are going to be quite a formidable duo. It's a shame to see him leave Portland after all this time and all the talk of loyalty, but I understand his desire to move on. As much as I appreciate players who spend their entire careers with one team, loyalty is a two-way street, and teams often aren't as loyal to players as they demand players be loyal to them. It's a business, and all that.
Although, apparently Dame
tried to rescind his trade demand earlier this month, and the Blazers told him there was no coming back from it, to his surprise. As much as I can't blame Dame for wanting to move on, I can't blame the Blazers for pressing on when he seemingly had a change of heart. Dame's original "Miami or bust" demand couldn't have made things easy for them, and simply demanding out is usually torching the bridge anyway, so he probably shouldn't have been surprised that they took at him at his word that it was time to part ways.