Two and a half weeks ago, the Damian Lillard trade happened, and while it may not have been the trade that everyone expected to happen, the landscape of the NBA was permanently altered. In the wake of the Bucks' preseason matchup against the Lakers, Dame's first game with Milwaukee broadcasted on ESPN, I figured it was worth looking at the teams involved in this trade and its fallout, and trying to project their 2023-24 season.
Milwaukee Bucks
Additions: Damian Lillard
Subtractions: Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, 2029 First Round Pick, 2028/2030 Pick Swaps
Obviously, the team that people will have their eyes on the most in the wake of the trade is the Bucks, a regular juggernaut in the Eastern Conference (but not the only one that improved) by pairing two top-75 players. When you think of the modern game, which is so pick-and-roll driven, a player who can create for himself and others on all three levels, and one who is a physically unstoppable force is basically the dream pair. See Lillard and Antetokounmpo. One is in the back half of his career and still managed to score over seventy points in a single contest last season, and the other is an MVP, champion, and Finals MVP. There's no reason to think that the Bucks won't be one of the best teams in the league, health-depending, considering they still employ Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton, two players who were essential to their championship run in 2021. The one point of note to mention is the departure of Holiday, a feature player that was going to be necessary to land someone of Lillard's caliber, who will make Milwaukee thinner defensively on the perimeter.
Portland Trail Blazers
Additions: Deandre Ayton, Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams III, Toumani Camara, 2029 First Round Pick (Milwaukee), 2028/2030 Pick Swaps (Milwaukee), 2024 First Round Pick (Golden State), 2029 Unprotected FRP (Boston)
Subtractions: Damian Lillard, Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, Keon Johnson
There's no denying that the Blazers organization and the city of Portland as a whole will miss Lillard, both on and off the court. In the wake of the trade, when looking at everything that arrived and departed from each team, it's also hard to deny that General Manager Joe Cronin, a character whose popularity certainly spikes and dips, made out like a damn bandit. He essentially turned his franchise centerpiece into three first-round picks, a DPOY candidate, and last year's 6MOTY. He also was able to dump a wildly unfriendly contract to a team looking to "win now" (and thinks Nurkic is the answer) and turn that and some bench players into a disgruntled former number-one overall selection looking to remake his image and a second-rounder from last year who's already turning heads pretty seriously in preseason. The Blazers are projecting to be an all-time "League Pass" team (a Bill Simmons term I'll use forever), with the three-headed monster of Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and Anfernee Simons pushing downhill at a frenetic pace, and "supplementary" pieces like the aforementioned Deandre Ayton, and Jerami Grant, a player many people thought should have been an All-Star last year. Having two key first-round picks landing in the year 2029 is worth noting as well because Cronin clearly thinks that by then, both Sharpe and Henderson will be fully realized as the centerpiece players for PDX. It's interesting to consider the idea of "savvy veteran" Deandre Ayton, who could be a really good third option with those two at that point in his career, depending on his production, contractual status, and general demeanor (always worth considering with him).
Phoenix Suns
Additions: Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, Grayson Allen, Keon Johnson
Subtractions: Deandre Ayton, Toumani Camara
When looking at the rest of Phoenix's roster, it's clear that none of the players that they acquired as a participant in this deal were meant to be a feature piece of a (hopeful) championship run for them. They're committed to a "pick your poison" kind of offense, which will likely be Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal taking turns isolating against their opponents. They also don't have a "real" starting point guard, after the departure of Chris Paul, and Blazers fans will be (and should be) very honest with their Western Conference counterparts and tell them that Keon Johnson isn't a point guard. As Blazers fans (and certain blogging former employees) also know, Jusuf Nurkic at his best is as good of a center as there is in the NBA, a 300-pound seven-footer who can rebound, protect the paint and stretch the floor. That version of Nurk shows up about 20 games a season at the most and is usually pretty well spent by the playoffs. Little and Allen are good additions to their bench, as are the other additions of former Blazer Drew Eubanks, and guys like Yuta Watanabe and Keita Bates-Diop will allow for both increased size and floor spacing. The Suns are going to be an interesting team to follow, as they have to try to overcome the reigning champion Nuggets, rising teams like the Kings and Thunder, and stacked-to-the-gills squads like the Lakers.
Boston Celtics
Additions: Jrue Holiday
Subtractions: Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams III, 2024 First Round Pick (Warriors), 2029 First Round Pick
The Celtics snuck in to make themselves involved in the move of Holiday from Portland to a contender (a move everyone knew was happening), and while there's little doubt that it cost them a lot, both on paper and when you look at the Blazers, those two teams have little beef with each other and wouldn't meet until a Finals. Celtics fans loudly bemoaned the loss of Robert Williams III, especially his defense and the idea that new Celtic Kristaps Porzingis is out all the time due to injury. Since 2019-2020, Robert Williams III has played 177 games, and Porzingis has played 216. Rob also can't shoot threes. So this trade doesn't tell the whole story for Brad Stevens' revamped C's, who've changed their look a bit this offseason. He's intentionally loaded up their bench with guys who have contributed on good, if not great teams over the past couple of seasons, while also (basically) turning Marcus Smart, Robert Williams III, and Malcolm Brogdon into Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. The bench will be made up of guys like Oshae Brissett, Neemias Queta, Lamar Stevens, and Wenyen Gabriel, in addition to Celtic staples Pritchard, Hauser, and Kornet. When looking at the state of the Eastern Conference, it's clear to see that Boston and Milwaukee both improved pretty drastically, and teams like Philadelphia and Miami have either lost key contributors (Gabe Vincent to the Lakers) or destroyed their relationship with their James Harden to the point of no repair, which could then lead to the departure of Joel Embiid if they're not careful.
I'm fucking excited for this NBA season.
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