The Portland Trail Blazers just traded away franchise point guard Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team trade. The Trail Blazers were able to add a star center in Deandre Ayton as well as get a veteran point guard in Jrue Holiday.
Full trade, per sources:
– Bucks: Damian Lillard
– Blazers: Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton, Toumani Camara, 2029 first-round Bucks pick and Bucks pick swap
– Suns: Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, Keon Johnson, Grayson Allen https://t.co/56I888abMs— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 27, 2023
The Blazers seem destined to move Jrue Holiday to a contending team as well and likely will get draft compensation as a result instead of keeping him to mentor this young team. This team has a lot of young talent that can grow together with Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe.
Now add in a dominant center like Deandre Ayton to lead down low. That can be a scary team in the future as they begin to gel together. Ayton is averaging 16.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per game while shooting close to 60 percent from the field. Now in a role with more opportunities, the former first-overall pick has a chance to be the true top option.
The addition of Toumani Camara also helps as he was able to average 16.3 points, seven rebounds, two assists and 0.8 steals during his four Summer League games. He is another NBA rookie that could be a force off the bench for this team.
What should we expect out of the Portland Trail Blazers this season?
This could be the start of the rebuild for the Portland Trail Blazers as they officially hit the reset button. They already reached the maximum they can go with Damian Lillard and while it hurts, this is a win.
Trading for superstars in the NBA is risky and typically does not work. Look at James Harden to Brooklyn, James Harden to Philadelphia and Kyrie Irving to Dallas as some that did not work out. This Blazers team has a lot of young players that can grow together and play similar to what the Brooklyn Nets were before they signed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, just a destination that can grow talent.
This Blazers team is going to contend for a play-in spot as the Western Conference is full of talented teams. It will be interesting to see what they can get as a return for Jrue Holiday to solidify this trade return as well.
