For months, Damian Lillard was unhappy with the Portland Trail Blazers’ organization and made it known that he wanted to be traded. Eventually, the Trail Blazers felt it made sense to accept a three-team trade package, which also included the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns.
The Milwaukee Bucks received Lillard and, in doing so, created one of the most dangerous pick-and-roll duos in the league with Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Gaining one of the best point guards in the league, the Bucks gave up Jrue Holiday and three future first-round picks, two of which are pick swaps.
The Phoenix Suns received Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little, and Keon Johnson. This will help the Suns, who currently have the most star power in the league but still lack some role players. The Suns leave this trade as arguably the biggest winner, having only given up Deandre Ayton and Toumani Camara.
Finally, the Trail Blazers received Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton, and Toumani Camara, along with the Bucks’ 2029 first-round pick and the 2028 and 2030 picks. This plays well into the Blazers’ vision of building a young core around their future star guards Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe.
Damian Lillard immediately adds a new level of three-point shooting to this already championship-caliber team. The Bucks are only two seasons removed from their latest NBA Championship. Lillard will help this team open up the court for their star player, Giannis, who is a consensus top-five basketball player in the world. Along with Lillard and his seemingly endless shooting range, the team has a special duo. The Bucks also have three-time All-Star forward Khris Middleton, who will have less focus on him when playing offense. This means his shots will be very open, and many are expecting to see his shooting percentages skyrocket.
The Phoenix Suns, who played the Bucks in the NBA Finals just two years ago, have completely revamped their team this past season and during the offseason. The Suns have added Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. With all that star power, people were concerned that center Deandre Ayton would be upset with his smaller role in the offense. The Suns made the decision to add by subtracting and attached Jusuf Nurkic to this already dominant offense. Nurkic is not the kind of center to demand post touches or try to shoot fancy shots. He is a player who will sit under the basket and do the dirty work. Nurkic thrives by getting rebounds, blocking shots, and defending the other team’s best big man. This was one of the biggest concerns for the Suns going into this season, and they fixed it with the potential to improve. Grayson Allen, Nassir Little, and Keon Johnson are also quality bench players for the Suns, which is exactly what they need after trading for Durant and signing Beal.
Finally, the Trail Blazers have done what they said they were looking to do, which is to continue building their young core around the players they believe can be future NBA stars, like Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and Anfernee Simons. The Trail Blazers introduce an established starting center in Ayton, who will provide this young team with a sense of leadership and a consistent scoring option when they need a basket. The Blazers have stated that, for this trade to happen, they needed future picks, which is exactly what they received from the Bucks. To many, the most interesting part of this whole trade is Jrue Holiday because it is a mystery whether he will actually stay with the team or not. Many people believe he will be traded to a championship contender for more future talent before the season starts.
When you examine this trade, it appears to be a very equitable deal for all the teams involved. It has the potential to enhance the Suns and Bucks’ chances of contending for an NBA title in the upcoming season. Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers obtained precisely what they were seeking in this trade, aiding them in discovering young talent and acquiring future draft picks to jumpstart their franchise rebuild.
