Portland Trail Blazers fans are always leaning a bit more forward in their seats when Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks come to town. Tonight, Blazers General Manager Joe Cronin leaned far enough to get some love from the former Blazer.
As Lillard greeted Blazers personnel sitting under the basket courtside, he went in for a handshake and a hug with Blazers owner Jody Allen.
With the world watching and the spotlight on Dame, Joe Cronin was next in line. Lillard said that the time immediately preceding his trade from Portland to Milwaukee “left a sour taste in my mouth” and for his part Cronin said “[Lillard] and I went through it” that summer.
What would Dame do? Would he let bygones be bygones, greeting the man who denied his trade request to the franchise of his choice two years ago? Or would he walk away, ceremoniously turning his back on a painful past?
With the cameras zoomed in, Dame stepped toward Cronin, looked him square in the face… and dapped him up.
Though Dame was mic’d up, it’s difficult to make out what he said.
But to this writer, it was hard not to imagine what was being said through garbled audio. Could it be whispers of sweet promises to return to Portland one day? It’s impossible to tell. For tonight, the visual of a hearty dap between two old colleagues would have to be enough.