Blockbuster trade sends Damian Lillard to Bucks

Milwaukee traded point guard Jrue Holiday, plus Grayson Allen, a first-round pick and two pick swaps to get Damian Lillard, the seven-time All-Star Portland Trail Blazers guard. The move immediately makes Milwaukee the Eastern Conference favorites while cementing Portland's long-awaited rebuild. To facilitate the deal, the Phoenix Suns sent former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton to Portland to get center Jusuf Nurkic, Allen and youngsters Keon Johnson and Nassir Little.

Lillard requested a trade just after the draft, when the Blazers drafted point guard Scoot Henderson with the No. 3 pick. Not only was this the second year in a row Portland drafted a teenager with their lottery pick, Henderson plays the same position as Lillard. But while Lillard maintained that he only wanted to be traded to the Miami Heat, talks never developed between Miami and Portland.

Enter the Bucks. With Giannis Antetokounmpo hinting that he'd leave Milwaukee unless they showed him they would "go together to win a championship," the Bucks needed a big move. They got one by bringing in Lillard, who averaged 32.2 points and 7.3 assists last year. Milwaukee committed three draft picks and $216 million to get Lillard's services the next four years, to pair one of the NBA's best scorers with one of its best defenders.

Lillard should thrive with a Milwaukee team that often bogged down offensively in close games. Opposing defenses will think twice about doubling Antetokounmpo, already almost unguardable, with Lillard lurking on the perimeter. With Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton, newly re-signed this summer, Lillard also has incredible defenders around him for the first time in his career. As a bonus, the Bucks kept Lillard away from the Heat, who eliminated them from the playoffs two of the last four years.

Portland plans to trade Holiday, a 33-year-old star defender who doesn't fit alongside their core of young guards. Ayton, who just turned 25, fits the Blazers' timeline better, and is locked in for three more years.

Milwaukee's move is reminiscent of their trade for Holiday in 2020, where they sent three picks and two swaps to New Orleans for the All-Defensive guard. It paid off in two ways: Antetokounmpo signed an extension, and Holiday helped the Bucks to their first title in 50 years. His steal and lob to Antetokounmpo won a close Game 5 for Milwaukee, and they closed it out in the final game.

It's a big win-now trade, and the kind of trade that Portland never made to put Lillard on a true championship contender. Neither Antetokounmpo or Lillard could have asked for a more title-friendly situation, and the future is now in Wisconsin.