A new era of the Portland Trail Blazers officially ushered in on September 27 of last year when Damian Lillard was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. While the unofficial end probably occurred when Scoot Henderson was drafted in June, it wasn’t until the spring that we were all able to move on.
Those three months included the near-daily rigmarole of whether Blazers general manager Joe Cronin would relent and send the then-seven-time All-Star to the Miami Heat. Or stand your ground, waiting for a better offer to land on his desk.
The latter prevailed and Cronin’s patience paid off when the Bucks emerged as suitors, willing to give up real assets in exchange for a player considered by many to be the franchise’s best.
Thanks to the Bucks, Phoenix Suns and later the Boston Celtics, the Blazers arguably got the best possible package while sending the point guard to a good situation.
Today we take a look at how each of the four teams involved fared this season with their respective sets.
The pieces
While Lillard was rightly the headliner in the two-stage transaction, there were nine other players, three first-round picks and two first-round trades negotiated over the course of four days.
On September 27, the Suns dealt Deandre Ayton and Toumani Camara, the Bucks parted ways with Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, a future first and two pick swaps. The Blazers obviously sent off Lillard, as well as Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson.
On October 1, Holiday was traded to the Celtics for Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams III, a future Boston pick, and a Golden State Warriors pick, who will go to the Blazers at pick 14 later this month.
Boston Celtics
The Celtics advanced to the 2024 NBA Finals earlier this week and will now face the Dallas Mavericks in an attempt to capture their first championship in 16 years.
The Celtics finished with a league-best 64-18 record, fueled by a core of Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford.
Holiday has been a key part of Boston’s dominant 2023-24 campaign. He has teamed up perfectly with White to form one of the best two-way defensemen in the league.
The fact that the Blazers decided to trade Lillard to the Bucks in exchange for Holiday and picks was brilliant. While not necessarily the player that Lillard is, Holiday has proven to be Lillard’s best stopper.
As such, Holiday proved to be just as sought after as Lillard, if not more, by the Bucks’ foes in the Eastern Conference. It’s no surprise that the dogged defender found himself in New England before the start of the season.
In the end, due to injuries and inconsistency, the Bucks didn’t make it past the first round, so we never had our rematch between Holiday and Lillard. Holiday has thrived on the Celtic Green, making second-team All Defense this year and finishing sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
For the season, he averaged 12.5 points on 42.9 percent from three, 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.8 blocks. Through 14 playoff games, Holiday has scored 12.7 points on 39.7 percent three-point shooting, 5.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.6 blocks.
Despite having to part with two picks, Brogdon and Williams III, the move was a no-brainer for Boston, which gained an elite two-way guard to help with a true title challenge.
milwaukee dollars
To secure Lillard, the Bucks parted ways with their last remaining Draft assets, Holiday and Grayson Allen, who finished the season as the NBA’s best three-point shooter.
Milwaukee clearly got the best player in the deal, but Lillard’s first season in Milwaukee has been anything but triumphant. However, his arrival led Giannis Antetokounmpo to sign an extension with the Bucks, ensuring that the Greek forward would remain with the franchise for a while longer.
Supporting Antetokounmpo, Lillard understandably saw drops in production. But his efficiency, something his teammates shouldn’t have affected, took a hit and his three-point rate fell from 37.1 percent in 2022-23 to 35.4 percent in 2023-24. His points per shot attempt also fell from 1,296 in 2022-23 and second among point guards to 1,196 and ninth last season.
More concerning was his drop in effective field goal percentage from 56.6 percent and ninth among point guards in 2022-23 to 51.0 percent and 29th last season. His three-cornerback percentage plummeted from 37.2 percent and 26th among point guards in 2022-23 to 29.7 percent and 42nd in 2023-24.
But the disappointing season may have been a symptom of larger problems within the franchise. The Bucks hired and fired Adrian Griffin a few months before hastily adding Doc Rivers. Injuries to Antetokounmpo, Lillard and Khris Middleton led to inconsistency and may have also prevented the playing group from gelling.
Rivers now has the entire summer to implement his style of play, players can recover and become better acquainted with each other’s games.
But it better happen quickly. While Antetokounmpo is not yet 30 years old, Lillard, Middleton and Brook Lopez are all in their 30s and all have notable injury histories. Lillard’s deal will only get more expensive as the aging roster moves forward.
Trading for Lillard was a winning move now, but it also meant they were forced to part ways with Holiday, who had been a proven piece in the franchise’s 2020-21 championship run.
All things considered, the Bucks probably made the right deal, but we have yet to see the fruits of the move.
phoenix suns
The Suns were the first team eliminated from this year’s NBA Playoffs, swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves. They still have three gigantic contracts in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, and the rest of the salary cap is made up of Nurkic, Allen, Little and minimum deals.
Despite owner Mat Ishbia’s claim that 26 other teams would trade for the Suns, there’s not much to get excited about in Arizona.
Before last year’s trade, the Suns seemed destined to end their relationship with Ayton after selecting him with the No. 1 pick six years ago. Then the little-known and recently drafted Camara was also included in the deal and many Blazers fans cried “who?”
In exchange, Phoenix locked up Nurkic, Little and Johnson in the deal, as well as Allen, who finished with a league-best 46.1 percent three-point percentage on 5.9 attempts.
Nurkic was useful, but he’s probably still a demotion from Ayton. The Bosnian scored 10.9 points, 11.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks.
As the Suns try to restructure the roster, it may be Nurkic’s contract that gives them the only real money to trade other than Durant or Booker.
Unfortunately, Little was never able to secure consistent minutes in the rotation, posting career lows in points, rebounds, and assists while Johnson finished the season with the Brooklyn Nets.
The Suns are in a much worse position, simply due to the fact that they are no closer to a title and have severe restrictions to improve their situation.
Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers gave up the biggest asset and received the biggest return, getting back players and picks from the other three franchises.
Despite what some people may think about the Ayton deal, none of the assets the Blazers received should be considered negative. When it comes to future picks, the Blazers have attractive pieces they can use or present to trade partners when they are ready to compete again.
Camara showed that he is a legitimate rotation-level NBA defensive forward who, despite being a slightly older rookie, still has room to improve his game, particularly on offense.
Ayton showed us what he was capable of after the All-Star break. His last 20 games produced averages of 21.6 points on 58.9 percent from the field, 12.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.7 blocks. An improvement over his season numbers of 16.7 points on 57.0 field goals, 11.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.8 blocks.
I have no problem thinking of him as the future center of this franchise, but it remains to be seen if that will happen.
Brogdon was exactly as advertised and will no doubt bring the Blazers another first-round pick when he finally moves. Williams III played only six games, but if he can recover, he can also recover more assets in a trade.
The Blazers will continue to collect picks from the Lillard trade. Something that would never have happened if they had chosen the Heat package of Tyler Herro and two first-round picks.
It’s probably hard to guess what the deal will mean for the Blazers long-term, but I think it’s fair to say they locked in the maximum possible value for Lillard in mid-to-late 2024. Now is the time to use them somehow. that helps this franchise really compete in the long run.
Conclusion
As far as winners go, you’ll probably have to give in to the Celtics right now. Boston heads to the NBA Finals as a favorite and Jrue Holiday will play a big role.
The Blazers should be more than happy with their haul, but we’re not counting our chickens yet. What we do know is that they have a starting center in Ayton and an above-average defender in Camara and two other players who should recover more assets. Watch this space.
The Bucks still have a lot to prove and need to do it quickly before their aging roster wears out. Still, it was the right decision for them, so you have to give general manager Jon Horst a passing grade. But this team has to win a championship and soon for the deal to pay off.
I’m not sure anyone would trade places with the Suns right now. They are clearly the worst off of the four. But, when you have Kevin Durant and Devin Booker on your team, you can never be completely counted out.
Experts will no doubt return to the trade in the months and years to come, if only to gauge how far the assets the Blazers received have taken them.
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