Lillard told the Portland Trail Blazers earlier this month he wanted to be traded and Goodwin subsequently made clear his preference was Miami.

“This entire situation was about building an opportunity for Portland to win or giving him another opportunity that he wants, which is Miami.”

The Miami Heat are at least putting every ounce of effort in acquiring Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard. 

The Heat are ready to offer a trade package that features three to four first-round draft picks and more for Lillard. Shams Charania recently broke the proposed deal on an appearance on The Rally on Bally Sports. 

The league said it interviewed Lillard and Goodwin, along with several teams with whom Goodwin spoke. Goodwin denied telling teams that Lillard would refuse to play for them and the teams provided descriptions that were “mostly, though not entirely, consistent with Goodwin’s statements to us.”

Players are not allowed to publicly request trades. The league also stated in the memo that it told the Players Association that further comments such as Goodwin’s will be subject to discipline.