It's not that they didn't have the assets. They could have pulled a similar 3-way trade with the Suns. Portland's GM was just in his feelings and wanted to stick it to Dame and the Heat; refused to even engage in any talks with Miami.
This is all fun and games for Jimmy. He did the dreads last year and now this. This will be the headshot that will have to be used on TV and other media for the season. He's just having fun with the media. He's all business on the court.