Kobe Bryant spent all 20 of his NBA seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. Dirk Nowitzki spent all 21 of his with Dallas Mavericks. Tim Duncan spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Spurs.
Rare is the NBA star who spends their entire playing career donning one jersey, representing one city. Even rarer is the case of doing it in a smaller market.
Like Reggie Miller before him, who spent all 18 of his seasons with the Indiana Pacers, Damian Lillard seemed destined to spend his entire career in the only NBA city he had ever known - Portland.
It is why it may have been surprising, then, when Lillard requested a trade from Portland on July 2, with his agent Aaron Goodwin telling the Miami Herald on July 6 that Lillard only wants to play for the Miami Heat.
The Lillard rumors swirled for the next 60-plus days, with Toronto, Philadelphia, and Boston mentioned as potential landing spots for the 33-year old, seven time All-Star. Eventually, those rumors came to a halt, and the inevitable happened on Sept. 28, with Lillard getting his wish out of Portland.
Only, Miami wasn't the destination. Neither was Philadelphia or Boston. Rather, in an unexpected turn, Lillard was dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks. There would be no pairing with Jimmy Butler, or Joel Embiid, but instead Giannis Antetokounmpo. The final details of the trade, a three-team deal that also involved the Phoenix Suns, were as follows:
Milwaukee: Damian Lillard
Portland: Jrue Holiday (since traded to Boston), Deandre Ayton, Toumani Camara, a 2029 Milwaukee first round pick and pick swap
Phoenix: Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, Keon Johnson, Grayson Allen
The Athletic's Shams Charania initially reported that the Raptors had landed Lillard, with Nurkic still heading to the Suns and Ayton to the Trail Blazers. On Monday morning, Oct. 2, Raptors' President Masai Ujiri, speaking with the media on media day, acknowledged that the Raptors were aggressive in trying to land Lillard.
"We put our best foot forward," Ujiri told reporters. "It takes two to do a deal. We believe in our city, we believe in this place."
Lillard to Milwaukee, like if he had gone to his preferred destination of Miami or to Philadelphia, no doubt tips the balance in the Eastern Conference, even with Jrue Holiday's trade to the Celtics. While the Celtics, with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, and now Holiday in tow have a formidable big four that if healthy is a serious threat to take the east, the Bucks now have a superstar duo, a guard-big man tandem that is a throwback to great duos of the past.
While over the last 15 years there has been Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Durant, and James and Anthony Davis, there has not been a guard-forward twosome in a similar vein of Lillard and Antetokounmpo really since Stephon Marbury and Kevin Garnett. Even with that, there are core differences. Marbury, for as quick, explosive a scorer and as adept a passer as he was, did not have the range of Lillard, who is one of the game's premier long range marksmen. Garnett anf Antetokounmpo play different styles.
What Lillard will do for Antetokounmpo, naturally, is take some of the scoring load and pressure off of him - that is what a career 25-point per game scorer will do. Lillard will also ease late game responsibilities, providing someone who can take the big shots down the stretch. Important, too, will be Lillard alleviating Antetokunmpo of ball handling duties. No longer will Antetokounmpo need to initiate much offense, it will be initiated for him. The pick and roll will be a lethal combination, which is primarily why the Marbury-Garnett example fits. You can't sag off of Lillard, and you cannot play him too tight because that will open up the lane for Antetokounmpo on the roll. On top of that, you have Khris Middleton, a knock-down shooter, on the wing, and Brook Lopez, who can also stretch the floor. One of Pat Connaughton of Malik Beasley, both capable shooters, will start at the two-guard.
Free-throw shooting is another bonus that Lillard adds to the Bucks. A 90 percent career shooter from the charity stripe, Lillard will once again the ease the burden on Antetokounmpo, who was just 10-for-23 from the free-throw line in Game 5 of the Bucks' 2023 first-round series against the Miami Heat, a game in which the Bucks lost 128-126 despite Antetokounmpo's 28 points and 20 rebounds.
Looking at the eastern conference going into 2023-2024, it is clear that, health permitting, the Bucks and Celtics are the two top teams. With the addition of Holiday, the Celtics have found a replacement for defensive stalwart Marcus Smart, who departed in the trade that yielded Porzingis. Holiday, who garnered his third career first team all-defense nod in 2023, gives the Celtics someone that can guard not only Lillard but the other premier point guards around the league. With Holiday, Brown, and Tatum, they have a solid defensive trio that will work well with the shooting and defensive presence of Porzingis. With Robert Williams and Malcolm Brogdon headed to the Trail Blazers in the Holiday deal, Porzingis' interior defensive presence will be needed, and the Celtics do lack some depth. However, having an all-star level quartet should make up for that. They also still maintain the steady, veteran presence of Al Horford.
The Trail Blazers, meanwhile, got younger in the trades, obtaining Ayton and Williams, both of whom form a good contrast of offensive and defensive skill sets. With Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons, and Shaedon Sharpe at the guard spots, Chauncey Billups has a very good youth movement at his disposal.
Not lost in all of this are the Suns, who vastly improved their depth. Nurkic gives them a center that can provide some of the things that Ayton could not, as a bigger interior defender and better passer. Allen, coming from the Bucks, gives the Suns additional shooting to go along with Eric Gordon, Yuta Watunabe, and a level of grit on the perimeter. Drew Eubanks was a good free-agent pickup from the Trail Blazers, and Bol Bol is also in the fold. Perhaps with minutes that he did not get in Denver, Bol could prove to be an under the radar asset to the Suns.
While the Suns will take a lot of the attention out west, it undoubtedly will be on the Bucks in the east. Lillard is now under more pressure to win than he ever has been, and with Antetokounmpo, he forms perhaps the league's most formidable duo. The 33-year-old may not have gotten his preferred destination, but he is without question in the best situation possible to win a championship.
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