- Damian Lillard finally plays with a superstar teammate
- Milwaukee is now the official favorite to win the Eastern Conference
- Two other teams have massively improved following the blockbuster trade
It is finally done, Damian Lillard has been traded from the Portland Trail Blazers. No, the trade does not involve the Miami Heat at all as the Milwaukee Bucks have acquired the superstar point guard to create a superteam with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Bobby Portis, and Brook Lopez. Nobody expected the Bucks to pull off a blockbuster deal for Lillard but they have.
Amazingly, there is a third team involved and that is none other than the title-contending Phoenix Suns. The Suns have also traded their exiled center Deandre Ayton and received a package including Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little, and Keon Johnson. The Trail Blazers ended up with a return of Deandre Ayton, Jrue Holiday, Toumani Camara, a first-round pick, and a pick swap.
As this news shakes the NBA landscape, let’s look at the biggest winners and losers of this blockbuster trade that will be evident as soon as the 2023-24 season starts.
Winners
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks were under heavy pressure this offseason with their franchise player Giannis Antetokounmpo threatening to leave the team if the roster was not up to par heading into the future. Instead of panicking and making a trade that was unnecessary, the Bucks decided to steal Damian Lillard from the grasp of the Miami Heat. The Bucks not only made sure that Giannis Antetokounmpo has a squad for the foreseeable future, but also guaranteed the player re-signs in an extension.
The Bucks are clearly the favorites in the Eastern Conference after doubts about where they stood following two early exits from the postseason (second round in 2022, first round in 2023). With a lineup that has Damian Lillard joining Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez, the Bucks are the biggest winners in one of the largest deals in modern memory.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo always will be a winner in anything that goes on around him because he is one of the top five players in the world and holds all the power in the NBA. If Giannis is unhappy, he can request a trade and every team in the league will be after him. If he stays, the franchise is forced to build around him. Luckily for the Bucks (and Giannis), the second option is the feasible one right now.
Jrue Holiday was an exceptional player for Milwaukee, helping the team win the 2020-21 championship by being an All-NBA Defense-caliber guard. As great as he is, Lillard is a different level of superstar and Giannis has the best teammate he has ever had alongside him in 2024. Antetokounmpo has all the pieces he needs to win, and with Dame, he can do what he does best which is dominate both ends of the floor and also continue being unselfish on offense.
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers will be considered losers because they were forced to trade Damian Lillard following the player’s trade request, but it is actually for the better. The team was not going to win with Lillard as the furthest they went was the Western Conference Finals in 2019 and never returned again. As a result, Portland had to search for the best deal available and the trade with the Bucks gives them a host of solid pieces. For one, Deandre Ayton is only 25 years old and is a double-double machine despite the criticism he receives.
The big man averages a career 16.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per game and alongside Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons, and Shaedon Sharpe, Ayton can be a solid go-to option as he looks to improve his game. With a first-round pick on the way as well, the Trail Blazers got a nice return for the disgruntled 33-year-old superstar. Jrue Holiday is an All-Star guard that Portland can keep to develop the youngsters with or move for more future assets. Overall, this was a strong trade for the Trail Blazers.
Phoenix Suns
Deandre Ayton was the best player in the deal when looking at what the Phoenix Suns sent and received, but the quantity of role players they have now is certainly impressive. In return for Ayton, the Suns have four new pieces who will immediately play minutes for them: Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little, and Keon Johnson. Nurkic steps into the starting center role and while he isn’t as talented as Ayton, he is stronger at 6’11” and 290 lbs and will always be a physical presence down low.
Allen is a career 39.5% shooter from three and the more shooters they can surround Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal with, the better. Nassir Little is a confident scorer who averaged 6.6 points per game last year and as he develops, the 23-year-old will get closer to posting double-digits in scoring off the bench.
Keon Johnson, a 6’5” shooting guard, averaged 9.7 points per game last season for the Trail Blazers and is another youngster who will improve. The Suns have superstars but need depth, and the four new players join the likes of Eric Gordon, Josh Okogie, Yuta Watanabe, and Bol Bol for an impressive depth chart.
Losers
Miami Heat
Oh boy, the Miami Heat might have to run it back with the same core of players that looks less impressive with the departures of Gabe Vincent and Max Strus. The Heat were almost certain that Damian Lillard would be heading their way but instead, they have to find a new All-Star player to pair with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Tyler Herro should be returning, so that is good news, but that still won’t be enough to get over the hump in the East next season.
Miami should have complied with whatever offer the Trail Blazers wanted for Damian Lillard, but apparently, the Heat did not want to give up Caleb Martin. Martin is a valuable starter for them, but he isn’t on the level of Lillard, and Miami fans are left wondering what happened. The Heat might still acquire an All-Star player to form a Big Three, but they probably won’t get a superteam.
Jimmy Butler
Jimmy Butler is not a happy camper, ladies and gentlemen. The superstar wing player was expecting to regroup following last season’s championship run and the departures of Gabe Vincent and Max Strus showed a shift in what the team was trying to do. However, Butler did not get Damian Lillard to play with, and the Heat are left with trying to rekindle the relationship with Tyler Herro who was dangled in trade rumors all summer.
The Heat are massive losers in the Damian Lillard trade and Jimmy Butler will get the brunt of it. The player had to carry the team in the postseason in 2020 and did the same in 2023, but it might not be possible for him to do it again. Butler is 34 years old and needs a superstar player to carry the offense, and based on his surprising reaction, the All-Star is not happy.
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics looked to be the favorite in the Eastern Conference in 2024 following the Kristaps Porzingis trade, but they might have been outdone by the Milwaukee Bucks. The Celtics’ Big Three of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis is scary, but Milwaukee’s might be better. Antetokounmpo, Lillard, and Middleton provide exceptional two-way play and there are doubts about Porzingis’ health going forward.
As a result, the Celtics might have a difficult time returning to the NBA Finals again as they did in the 2021-22 season. While Boston never thought for a second that a Finals appearance was guaranteed, their path is getting more difficult because Milwaukee’s two best players are better than Boston’s. Unless the Celtics can move Malcolm Brogdon for someone special, the Celtics have been relegated to the second-best team in the East at best.
Jrue Holiday
Jrue Holiday formed an exceptional trio in Milwaukee with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. Holiday made an All-Star Team and three All-Defensive Team selections with the Bucks while also proving to be the final piece of the puzzle in the 2021 championship team. However, it seems that Holiday won’t get this opportunity to win a title again, barring another trade to a contender.
Holiday does not fit in Portland’s long-term strategy but if he is kept to nurture the young guards, it will come at a sacrifice of his own individual and team accolades. At 33 years old, Holiday does not have endless time to be playing for a rebuilding franchise and unless he gets a trade out of Portland, he has to accept a future without playoff appearances and individual accolades.
