Blazers Clearly Winning Damian Lillard Trade With Bucks Spiraling

Matt Levine | Nov 3, 2024

When the Portland Trail Blazers made the tough decision to move on from longtime star point guard Damian Lillard, many saw this as a win for the Milwaukee Bucks. After all, they were receiving the best player in the trade while Portland had to part with their team icon.

But fast forward a little over a year into the future and it seems that Portland may actually be the ones to win the Lillard trade. Milwaukee hasn't lived up to the hype that surrounded them after acquiring Lillard and it could end up benefitting the Trail Blazers long term.

The Bucks were bounced out in the first-round of the playoffs last season, in part due to injuries hitting them at the wrong time. But this year hasn't been too strong for Milwaukee.

Currently, the Bucks sit with a record of 1-5 on the season and they've now dropped five straight games. If things continue down this path, Milwaukee may have to make some tough choices that could include moving Lillard or co-star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

If either of those moves were to happen, Portland would likely reap the rewards since they own multiple future first-round picks from the Bucks. The Trail Blazers own the Bucks' 2029 first-round pick as well as pick swaps in both 2028 and 2030

The Bucks don't seem to have a lot going for them, especially if Antetokounmpo were to be moved. This would help the Trail Blazers since they own their picks for the last part of this decade.

Portland should be rooting for Milwaukee to continue to spiral so their patience in the rebuild can finally take off. The Trail Blazers aren't going to sit around and wait for these picks to come in but rather, they could be extra benefits if they can build a contending team over the next few years.

While it was tough to trade away Lillard, it was time for Portland to enter into a rebuild. They had spent multiple years in mediocrity, a place where no team wants to be in the NBA.

Portland has a nice, young core to work around moving forward so the future is bright. It may take a minute for the younger players to fully reach their potential so patience may be in store for fans.

But the end of the decade could be for the taking.

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