The Portland Trail Blazers traded point guard Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks, where he will team up with Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Eastern Conference.

The Blazers will receive Jrue Holiday, a 2029 first-round pick, and first-round pick swap options in 2028 and 2023 from the Bucks and Deandre Ayton from the Phoenix Suns, who are the third team involved in the trade.

The Bucks are the favorites to win the NBA Championship at +350 as a result of the trade. Antetokounmpo is +700 to win his third NBA MVP award while Lillard is +2200 to win it.

The Suns will receive Grayson Allen, Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, and Keon Johnson as compensation for dealing Ayton.

Lillard had previously stated his desire to be traded to the Miami Heat, who were the Eastern Conference champions in the 2022/23 season, but the Heat did not meet the Blazers' asking price for the seven-time All Star.

Now 33-years-old, Lillard goes into the 2023/24 season with probably the best chance at a deep playoff run that he's had in his career.

Full trade details 

Lillard averages 25.2 points per game with 6.7 assists per game for his career while shooting 43.9 from the field.

The Blazers' best season with Lillard was in 2018/19, when Lillard led his team to a Western Conference Finals appearance where they were swept by the Golden State Warriors.

In addition to two-time league MVP Antetokounmpo, Lillard's new teammates will include Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, Pat Connaughton, and Bobby Portis. 

The Bucks finished atop the Eastern Conference in the 2022/23 but lost to the eighth-seeded Miami Heat - the longtime favorites to land Lillard this offseason - in the first round which led to the firing of head coach Mike Budenholzer.

Now, the Bucks have a second All-NBA talent as they enter the debut season of new head coach Adrian Griffin, who last served as an assistant to former Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse from 2018 through the 2022/23 season.

Rusty Gorelick

• Portland Trail Blazers
• Milwaukee Bucks
• Phoenix Suns
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