On Wednesday, the Milwaukee Bucks shocked the basketball world by acquiring 7-time All-Star Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-team trade that involved DeAndre Ayton, Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, and draft picks.
Lillard had a productive career with the Portland Trail Blazers, but after two injury-plagued seasons and the Blazers entering a mini-rebuild, it was time for both sides to move on.
The Milwaukee Bucks, meanwhile, are in their championship window, and adding a player like Lillard only adds the pressure for the team to win a championship quickly.
The business of the NBA is a brutal one. The Bucks did have to give up fan-favorite Jrue Holiday. On Tuesday, Holiday expressed his desire to finish his career in Milwaukee. Holiday became a part of something special in Milwaukee, as he helped the team capture their first title in 50 years and was the player who created the greatest play in team history, “The Valley- Oop.”
valley oop jrue you’ll be missed😢pic.twitter.com/NYkCcQYfFE
— v (@aintnorv) September 27, 2023
Holiday transformed himself into one of the best two-way players in the league as a member of the Bucks.
The team also traded away Grayson Allen to the Suns. That move didn’t garner much buzz from fans, as Allen could show he could be a knockdown three-point shooter, but he wasn’t consistent enough from the outside and got exploited defensively against longer wings.
Suffice it to say that the Milwaukee Bucks fanbase is excited for the arrival of Damian Lillard.
The Milwaukee Bucks fans are buzzing about the arrival of 7X All-Star Damian Lillard.
The trade that changed the NBA landscape forever.
At 1:16 P.M. Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted this.
BREAKING: The Portland Trail Blazers are trading guard Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/FRgQyDVjQG
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 27, 2023
Lillard requested out of Portland in early July, and it was thought that he would force his way to the Miami Heat to team up with Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, but after Miami’s trade package wasn’t enough, that’s where Milwaukee swooped in. The two teams reportedly had been talking, for the past month about what a potential deal would look like. In the end, the three-team package was the best deal for all sides.
The Milwaukee Bucks fanbase is excited about the acquisition of the 7XAll-Star.
THIS IS WHAT WE NEED pic.twitter.com/6sFD4JYbm7
— Crumbletakes (@Crumbletakes) September 27, 2023
— 𝐁𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 (@Bucks_Take) September 27, 2023
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) September 27, 2023
NO WAY
— ᴅ ʀ ᴇ ᴡ (@FeelLikeDrew) September 27, 2023
SZN OVER FOR ALL TEAMS MAN 🤦🏽
— stxr✰ ✧ (@CookedbyZo) September 27, 2023
The reaction has been a mix of shock and excitement for the Milwaukee Bucks fanbase. This has been the third franchise-changing move the team has made. The first was the acquisition of Oscar Robertson to pair with Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, which propelled the team to a championship in 1971. In 2020, Milwaukee acquired Jrue Holiday, and they won a championship in his first year in Milwaukee. Maybe Damian Lillard could win his first championship in Milwaukee because the team’s track record during their two championship runs has been to acquire a franchise-changing guard and win a title in his first season.
A special season is on the horizon for the Milwaukee Bucks and their fanbase.
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