One of the biggest storylines of the NBA off-season has been Damian Lillard's public campaign to be traded from the Portland Trailblazers to the Miami Heat. Prior to the trade request, the seven-time All-Star had been famously loyal to the team that drafted him despite rarely being in championship contention. On Wednesday, the Portland Trailblazers honored the trade request of perhaps the best player in their franchise's history. But instead of trading him to Miami, he's going to one of their biggest rivals. The team dealt their starting point guard to the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team deal that includes the Phoenix Suns. Here are the details of the deal:
-The Portland Blazers receive Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton, and Toumani Camara, along with the Bucks' 2029 unprotected first-round pick and unprotected swap rights in 2028 and 2030.
-The Phoneix Suns receive Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little, and Keon Johnson.
-The Milwaukee Bucks receive Damian Lillard.
In 2021, the Milwaukee Bucks won the second championship in franchise history. However, since then, they have failed to advance past the second round of the playoffs. Last season, they were bounced out of he first round of the playoffs as the #1 seed by the #8 seeded Miami Heat. Now, the Bucks are adding one of the most clutch players in recent playoff history. The move automatically makes Damian Lillard (who averaged 32.2 points per game last year) the best point guard in the Eastern Conference. Pairing him with Giannis Antetokounmpos now puts the Bucks in "Championship or Bust" mode.
Source: Twitter
