It’s no secret that Damian Lillard has wanted has wanted out of Portland. The obvious landing spots for the Trail Blazers’ superstar point guard appeared to be either Boston or Miami, with no other Eastern Conference contenders seemingly making sense as a trade destination.
Well, that was until Wednesday.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski are both reporting that the Bucks, Suns and Portland have agreed to a three-team trade that sends Lillard to Milwaukee. Deandre Ayton will be heading back to the Trail Blazers, while Phoenix has acquired Jusuf Nurkic.
There’s more though.
Here are the details from Wojnarowski:
“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,” the ESPN NBA insider wrote in a post on X.
Wojanrowksi added, “The Blazers remain engaged elsewhere on deals and will are expected to immediately engage contending teams on trade talks to move on Jrue Holiday, sources tell ESPN. Portland is committed to its young group of talented guards.”
This is an absolutely massive blockbuster trade, so naturally, those in the sports world were quick to give their thoughts and opinions on the major move.
Someone, please check on all the poor souls who for months insisted — with absolute certitude, bordering on sanctimony — that Dame could *only* end up in Miami, because, er, reasons.
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) September 27, 2023
Lillard’s Milwaukee debut will come on Thursday, October 26th vs. the Philadelphia 76ers.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.