Dame Time in Milwaukee

Damian Lillard is headed to Milwaukee in a three team deal that changes scenery for Deandre Ayton, Jrue Holiday

In a stunning turn of events, the Milwaukee Bucks have acquired Damian Lillard in a three team trade with the Portland Trail Blazers and the Phoenix Suns.

Wow. What a bombshell. Certainly something I didn’t see coming. But now the question is: how much better did all the teams involved get?

Milwaukee Bucks

To be short and sweet, the Bucks just got way better. Though they lost Jrue Holiday and Grayson Allen, that is a small price to pay for one of the best scorers of his generation. Dame and Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo are cut from the same cloth. They are both legendarily hard workers from humble hoops beginnings, and they both have captured the hearts of their respective franchises. Together, they are going to be absolutely electric.

In total, the Bucks didn’t give up much. Yes, the loss of Jrue Holiday is going to be felt, but is his lauded defense really going to be missed when Dame is liable to go nuclear at any moment? Probably not. Lillard’s high basketball IQ is going to fit right into the void left by Holiday’s departure. As much love as Jrue Holiday gets (and frankly deserves), he is not the caliber of player Dame is. This is a win for Milwaukee, even with the additional losses of Grayson Allen and a first round draft pick in 2029. The trio of Giannis, Dame, and Khris Middleton is going to be one to watch this season, and no doubt newly crowned head coach Adrian Griffin is going to have a field day crafting an offense for them. If the Bucks can keep their defensive mentality intact, they are automatically a problem in the Eastern Conference.

Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers obviously made a big fuss once Lillard’s desire to be traded became clear. They were adamant that only the best of deals would be accepted. For whatever reason, Lillard’s desired landing spot of Miami never manifested a deal the team executives could stomach. To the credit of the organization, the Blazers’ patience paid off. So what did they get?

Jrue Holiday is a win for any team looking to win. He’s consistently among the best defenders in the league and has stumped all manner of offensive firepower throughout his career. On top of that, he is a dependable point guard in essentially any offense. He will be an immediate boon to a team brimming with young talent at the guard position due to his experience and professionalism. I’m expecting him and Scoot Henderson to become fast friends, and if you’re a Blazers fan or executive, that’s the best thing that could happen in your locker room.

But Portland also acquired Deandre Ayton. I have made my love for Ayton well known. He is a great young talent, and when he’s on, he’s on. He’s a big body center that is going to get you a double-double every night and provide some good protection around the rim. On top of that, his offense has the two best things a center could offer: efficiency and variety. His well documented disgruntlement with the Suns organization led to some tough scenes the past couple years, but I believe the change of scenery will do him wonders. He’s getting to join a team with solid guard play that can get him his touches in the flow of the offense. In my opinion, if this trade has a “winner,” Portland has a slight edge due to the foundation they have set up for their future.

Phoenix Suns

Did the Phoenix Suns have the best offseason in the league? There is definitely a case to be made, and they added to that case in a subtle way. Due to their big spending in terms of current contracts and trade acquisitions, the big question for the Suns was their ability to fill out the rest of the roster. After all, they sufficiently proved that a star studded but top heavy roster is not enough to win a championship (or even make it out of the Western Conference). The best version of the team’s current iteration came when they went to the Finals in 2021. I would never insinuate adding Kevin Durant to your team makes it worse, but if you fail to add key role players to balance the bench, you’ve basically got the equivalent of a filet mignon at a Waffle House: amazing in the beginning, but you may hate yourself for it during the back half of the night.

But I digress. The Suns have put out some fires. Not only have they added Eric Gordon, but in this three team trade, they got Nassir Little, Keon Johnson, and Jusuf Nurkic. Little and Johnson are young projects, but they have some promise. I expect Little in particular to make a jump this season. The real value added comes from Nurkic, though. An experienced, efficient big man who sets screens as if he is made of concrete. His screening ability coupled with his nice touch are going to put opposing defenses in scenarios where they are having to chase KD, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal all over the floor. If they lock all of those guys down, there’s still a chance for Nurkic to get the ball in a favorable position. Not a winning proposition in most cases.

I wish they could have added a little more defensive depth, but going all in on offense may prove to work for them (despite the obvious history of it not working out for anyone).

All told, it really does seem as if every team got better. The Blazers got to offload their grumpy superstar while receiving some real value in return, the Suns filled out the bench with some promising young guards while also getting a quality starting center, and the Bucks kept Giannis happy by bringing one of the most high profile players in the league to his doorstep. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out come tip-off time, but know this: if these teams were for some reason not already on your radar, you might want to go ahead and plan to watch. The season is already proving to be an exciting one.