Months of conjecture came to an end when Portland dealt franchise player Damian Lillard to Milwaukee. These are the three-team deal’s winners and losers.

victors

Milwaukee Bucks: In an attempt to win over star Giannis Antetokounmpo and put their best foot forward in a title run, the Bucks made a major move. The Bucks have the defensive skill to compensate for Lillard’s sporadic shortcomings on the court, and Lillard and Antetokounmpo have the potential to be the most effective inside-outside scoring duo since Shaq and Kobe. After all, a generational player like Antetokounmpo has to be their main priority right now, not a 2030 first-round pick who is presumably in seventh grade. They paid a heavy price for Jrue Holiday and three draft picks.

Phoenix Suns: They were obviously not enamored with Deandre Ayton’s play, even though they traded away the top choice from the 2018 draft. They made it evident when they signed Ayton only after matching Indiana’s offer, refusing to give him a maximum extension until he led them to the Finals in 2021. Now that they have traded an unhappy center for four more players—all of whom are younger and less expensive—their already strong team has some much-needed depth.

Portland Trail Blazers: It is official—all three participating clubs have won. Joe Cronin, general manager of the Blazers, exercised patience by holding off on trading his top point guard for over three months. In exchange for his endurance, the Blazers acquired Ayton, a 25-year-old center, and Holiday, who is set to be dealt, adding other pieces of their young core. The best part is that he received picks after Lillard’s contract expires, so Portland supporters can continue to support Lillard without fearing that Milwaukee’s performance will affect their ability to acquire lottery picks.

Despite the fact that Portland was always better off without Lillard and his enormous deal, this is a decent comeback for a team that has been waiting at least a year to rebuild.

Toronto Raptors: Although they were a front-runner for Lillard earlier this week, the Raptors never really saw the benefit of trading for Lillard. Even though Lillard is a fantastic оffensive talent, the 41-41 Raptors may not be a playoff team after acquiring him because they would have had to give away Gary Trent Jr. and/or OG Anunoby. Although Lillard is an improvement over the late Fred VanVleet, not enough to make the Raptors competitive on his alone.

Failures

Miami Heat: It appears that the Heat’s offseason plan was to get Lillard to South Beach. They let Gabe Vincent and Max Strus, two starters from the Finals team the previous year, to walk free. Guard Tyler Herro, who was inundated with trade rumors during the summer, was another player Miami ran the dаnger of offending. They are now attempting to win the Eastern Conference again, and their biggest offseason acquisition is Josh Richardson. Although Pat Riley and the Heat have a well-deserved reputation for luring famous people to Miami, they were unable to do so on this occasion.

Star player leverage: This summer, James Harden and Damian Lillard submitted trade requests to the NBA. Harden had a favorite destination in Los Angeles, while Lillard had Miami as his destination. No player was able to get what they want. In the NBA, it is common for elite players to receive lucrative contracts before moving on to other places (Harden has done this twice since 2021), but this time, organizations stood their ground. Less than a year after agreeing to a two-year deal through 2026–2027, Lillard requested a trade. That he did not get to select his new club a year later should come as no surprise.

Boston Celtics: The Celtics now have to contend with Lillard in addition to Milwaukee, who they have just defeated in the playoffs. Without point guard Marcus Smart, the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year, whom they traded to Memphis, they will have to accomplish it. Smart has limited Lillard to 41.7 percent shooting and just 33 percent from outside the arc in 12 career meetings. If the Celtics play Milwaukee again in May, they might miss that defense.

The agreement also increases the likelihood that Antetokounmpo would sign an extension with Milwaukee, putting Boston’s dreams of winning the championship on hold for the foreseeable future as the best player in the Eastern Conference.

Pascal Siakam: Should Siakam be selected by one of the All-NBA teams this season, he will be qualified for a supermax contract. With a subpar squad, that is a difficult goal to accomplish. With Lillard in the fold, the Raptors forward would have seen more victories and recognition. He no longer has a better chance of being dealt at the deadline than earning a supermax.