PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Trail Blazers finally granted superstar Damian Lillard's trade request on Wednesday, agreeing to deal him to the Milwaukee Bucks in a blockbuster three-team trade, according to multiple reports.
While Lillard automatically makes the Bucks the odds-on favorite to win the NBA title this coming season, Portland also came away with some key pieces in former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton and Jrue Holiday — a valuable player the Blazers are reportedly shopping to contending teams — as well as a 2029 unprotected first-round pick and unprotected pick swaps in 2028 and 2030 from Milwaukee.
Phoenix, the third team in the deal, improved their depth by turning Ayton, who'd fallen out of favor with the Suns, into a starting center in Jusuf Nurkic and role players in Nassir Little and Grayson Allen.
Here's how NBA pundits are grading the trade:
- Blazers: B+
- Bucks: A
- Suns: B-
What they said: Portland gets a good, young center in Ayton to help in the rebuilding process with Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe. The Blazers also get some potential draft help down the road, and they acquire another big-time asset to flip. Holiday, 33, is unlikely to stick with Portland. Trading him to a contender or hopeful contender is a lot more enticing than convincing someone that (Miami Heat guard Tyler) Herro and his $120 million owed are a sure bet. Herro has a lot of potential and substance, but he’s not the difference-maker Holiday is. This is a great initial move with another trade to help acquire more future help potentially right around the corner. — Zach Harper
- Blazers: B+
- Bucks: B+
- Suns: B-
What they said: Holiday isn't the kind of young talent a star trade would typically return, and without any ties to the Blazers or the kind of drawing power as Lillard, it seems inevitable Holiday will be traded again soon. Just how much Portland gets in return will determine how this deal compares to the possibility of sending Lillard to his desired destination, the Miami Heat. ... Portland got a single first-round pick outright, though it's a potentially great one. Even if Giannis extends his contract, by 2029 he'll be 34. Lillard will be 38. The odds Milwaukee is still a contender by that point are remote, and there's a reasonable chance of the Bucks bottoming out without either star (or, as noted, their own picks in between now and then). ... If Portland can get the kind of performance we saw from Ayton in the 2021 playoffs, when he averaged 15.8 points per game and 11.8 rebounds per game while helping the Suns to the NBA Finals, getting him at this low cost is a bargain. — Kevin Pelton
- Blazers: B
- Bucks: B+
- Suns: B+
What they said: While getting only one first-round pick outright in exchange for a Hall of Famer might sound bad, that's not the way to look at it. In June 2028, when the first Bucks pick could go to Portland, Lillard will be weeks away from his 38th birthday and Antetokounmpo will be a few months older than Lillard is now. The Blazers will definitely get Milwaukee's pick a year after that, and they will have the option to swap picks again another year later. They are betting that, by then, the Bucks' title window will have closed. ... Holiday's trade value is baked into this deal, so any assessment of how Portland fared will be more accurate once he's on another team. ... Holiday is undoubtedly the kind of player a contender would part with young players and picks to acquire. ... Ultimately, the bigger variable here is how Ayton develops. He starred in his role in the Suns' 2021 Finals run, but did not stay on that trajectory. Ideally, Portland will be the perfect place for him -- there's room for him to expand his offensive game, and, if he can consistently bring the defensive scheme versatility that he had during his most productive stints in Phoenix, then the former No. 1 overall pick can get his career back on track. — James Herbert
- Blazers: A-
- Bucks: A-
- Suns: A
What they said: This deal unloads Jusuf Nurkić's and Lillard's contracts, clears rotational minutes for Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe and Anfernee Simons and keeps the door open for more assets. Holiday was a borderline top-20 player last season. He can still help a contender. The biggest win for the Blazers, though, is those picks. In six years, when that first pick swap comes up, Lillard could be retired. Giannis Antetokounmpo will be 34, and he's already struggled a bit with availability over the last four years (he's at 63.5 appearances per season in that stretch). All three of those draft assets could have a lot of value by that time. — Andy Bailey
- Blazers: Incomplete
- Bucks: A+
- Suns: C
What they said: This move can’t be judged until the Blazers move on from Holiday, because right now this return is underwhelming. Ayton is a solid player, but for two years in a row he wore out his welcome in Phoenix despite being a No. 1 pick. While an upgrade over Nurkic, he will be asked to carry a lot more responsibility in Portland than he did in Phoenix. A first-round pick from Milwaukee and pick swaps don’t really move the needle much. All summer long, reports indicated Portland was not enamored with the Heat’s assets. This return so far does not beat what Miami theoretically could have put on the table. (Of course, we don’t know what the Heat’s final offer was.) Until Portland gets a return from Holiday — who should be coveted by numerous contenders — they can’t fairly be judged on this move. — Rohan Nadkarni
- Blazers: B
- Bucks: A
- Suns: C
What they said: Getting back Milwaukee’s 2029 unprotected first rounder is an extremely valuable asset for Portland. Those unprotected pick swaps in 2028 and 2030 could be fantastic, too. Portland has to hope Giannis eventually leaves Milwaukee, and if that happens, the Blazers could be set up super well for the future. They will have to be lucky and patient for that plan to pay off. ... Deandre Ayton gives the Blazers a new look as a young center oozing with talent. Ayton was the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft over Luka Doncic, but lost his place with the Suns after a promising run in the 2021 playoffs, when the team made the NBA Finals but lost to the Bucks. Ayton is a frustrating player in a lot of regards while owning a big salary cap number, but a scenery change and coaching change could help him a lot. ... The Blazers will now try to flip Holiday in another trade, and they should be able to get at least one more first round pick for him. — Ricky O'Donnell
- Blazers: B+
- Bucks: A
- Suns: B-
What they said: The Blazers found a win-now team and played hardball to get the best deal possible. This gives them some good assets and opens the door for No. 3 pick Scoot Henderson to show what he can really do. Getting only one unprotected first-round pick doesn't sound great at first glance, but with the Bucks going all-in, there is a decent chance that they are a lottery team by 2029. Those 2028 and 2030 first-round swaps could be very valuable for the same reason. Holiday doesn't make much sense on this team, but he will probably be flipped for more picks down the line. Ayton is a definite upgrade from Nurkic, both in terms of youth and skill. This is a good buy-low opportunity on a talented center who needed a change of scenery. A more motivated Ayton could turn into a very nice get for the Blazers. — Stephen Noh
- Blazers: A
- Bucks: A+
- Suns: B+
What they said: The moment Lillard requested a trade, the Trail Blazers would always have their backs up against the wall. That they could still acquire a seemingly promising center like Ayton — undoubtedly the main attraction of their return — is a fantastic win. I would count Holiday, but I don’t think the 33-year-old will be staying in Portland for long. Without the dynamic Lillard in the fold, the Trail Blazers have officially closed the book on his era. It is Scoot Henderson’s time now, and he gets the chance to pair up with the 25-year-old Ayton. This is not a bad deal by any stretch of the imagination. It might have been the best Portland could do, and looping Phoenix in for Ayton was a master stroke. Hats off to general manager Joe Cronin for sending Lillard somewhere he’d be happy and for taking care of Portland’s future at the same time. — Robert Zeglinski