Milwaukee Bucks land Damian Lillard in three-team deal with Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns
After months of hearing about Damian Lillard’s desire to be traded to the Miami Heat, the Portland Trail Blazers finally pulled the trigger on a deal involving the seven-time All-Star. But the Blazers didn’t send their former franchise player to his preferred destination. Instead, Portland struck a three-team deal with the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns, with Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton, Toumani Camara, a 2029 unprotected first-round pick and first-round pick swaps in 2028 and 2030 going to the Blazers. Lillard now finds himself playing with Giannis Antetokounmpo with the Bucks. And the Suns landed some much-needed depth, acquiring Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson.
Lillard goes Milwaukee as part of a 3-team deal with Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton, Toumani Camara, a 2029 unprotected MIL 1st, and unprotected MIL swap rights in 2028 and 2030 to Blazers. Phoenix lands Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson. https://t.co/Ge0H91AiIA
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 27, 2023
Milwaukee clearly felt that things had grown stale with Holiday at the point guard position, and the team needed to do something big in order to keep Antetokounmpo happy. There had been rumblings that he might be one of the next superstars to demand a trade. In Lillard and Antetokounmpo, the Bucks now have one of the best duos in the entire league. And that pair is flanked by some good complementary pieces, like Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez.
DraftKings Sportsbook clearly loves the move for the Bucks, as they were +850 to win the NBA Finals before the deal. Milwaukee is now +400 to win the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, making this team the betting favorite to win it all this year. The defending champion Denver Nuggets sit at second on the odds board, as they’re listed at +475 to pull off the repeat. DraftKings Sportsbook also has Milwaukee as a -380 favorite to win the Central Division and a +165 shot to win the Eastern Conference. Before the trade, those odds were -230 and +330 respectively.