How the Blockbuster Damian Lillard Trade Affects the NBA

Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard requested a trade on July 1, naming the Miami Heat as his preferred destination.

Despite Lillard listing the Heat, many other Eastern Conference teams made offers after the Heat were unable to provide a package the Trail Blazers liked.

After months of rumors, on September 27th at 2:20 p.m., NBA fans across the globe got the notification about a stunning trade that drastically changed the landscape of the NBA.

The Milwaukee Bucks won the Lillard sweepstakes in a three-team trade involving the Phoenix Suns.

The Bucks got Lillard, while the Trail Blazers received Jrue Holiday, the Bucks’ 2029 first-round draft pick and swap rights on the 2028 and 2030 Bucks picks. They also got DeAndre Ayton and Toumani Camara from the Suns, while Phoenix received Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson from the Trail Blazers, as well as Grayson Allen from the Bucks.

Following the trade, it was immediately reported that the Trail Blazers were looking to trade Holiday.

Four days later, on October 1st, they sent Holiday to the Boston Celtics in a package that sent Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon, a 2024 first-round pick via the Golden State Warriors and the Celtics’ 2029 first-rounder to Portland.

This is a rare trade where finding a clear-cut loser is difficult.

The Bucks got a much-needed superstar to pair alongside their current superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. This was a move they needed to make after Antetokounmpo remained uncommitted to the Bucks, stating his desire to win more than anything.

Antetokounmpo has two years remaining on his contract, and became eligible for an extension on Sept. 22. A deep playoff run by the Bucks this year might convince Giannis to remain with Milwaukee.

The Trail Blazers received a haul of assets to pair with their young core. To recap, in the two trades they made, they received Ayton, Williams, Brogdon, Camara, three unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps. Quite a haul of young talent and a strong veteran guard in Brogdon to mentor their young up-and-coming guards.

The Suns were a team short on depth after trading for both Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal in the last calendar year. Getting rid of Ayton, who has been unhappy in Phoenix for his entire Suns tenure, allowed them to get some bench depth as well as a capable replacement center in Nurkic who won’t steal touches from their big three.

After trading away Marcus Smart earlier in the offseason, the Celtics essentially got a better version of him in Holiday. While some will question the decision to get rid of one of the best defensive centers in Williams, adding arguably the best two-way guard in the league will alleviate the pain for Celtics fans.

After the dust settled on the blockbuster trade, the Bucks and Celtics were proclaimed by many to be the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. Anything short of a matchup between the two in the Eastern Conference Finals will be considered a disappointment to both their organizations and their fans.

Lillard and Antetokounmpo are right up there among the best superstar tandems in the league. On paper, this is a duo that should mesh very well together and cover up the weaknesses of the other.

There have been superteams that have looked strong on paper but failed to produce results on the court (most recently the Durant-Kyrie Irving-James Harden trio in Brooklyn), so there is a need to see the new duo in Milwaukee play together first before making any proclamations.

However, oddsmakers seem to like the odds of both the Bucks and Celtics, as Fanduel has them tied as favorites to win the 2023-24 championship.

With many intriguing developing storylines and big moves occurring this offseason, the excitement and anticipation for the season is only growing. There are now less than three weeks remaining until tip-off on Oct. 24 in what should be a very entertaining season.

Alex Perez is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email app5877@psu.edu.