PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Trail Blazers reportedly agreed to a three-team deal which will send All-Star point guard and franchise icon Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks, where he will team up with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Portland will receive Jrue Holiday and a 2029 unprotected first round pick from Milwaukee, as well as pick swaps in 2028 and 2030, while also netting DeAndre Ayton from the Phoenix Suns.
The full trade, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, is as follows:
Portland receives: Jrue Holiday, DeAndre Ayton, Toumani Camara, 2029 first round pick (Milwaukee) pick swap rights in 2028 and 2030 (Milwaukee).
Milwaukee receives: Damian Lillard
Phoenix receives: Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little, Keon Johnson
For more on this trade as it unfolds, check out the Locked on Blazers, Locked on Bucks, and Locked on Suns podcasts, available wherever you get podcasts!
Lillard asked out of Portland after more than a decade with the franchise shortly after the team used the third overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft on Scoot Henderson. Since then he made it clear his preferred destination is in Miami with the Heat, but Miami's primary trade piece - shooting guard Tyler Herro - didn't fit with Portland's needs and in recent weeks it was clear the team was exploring other options.
Lillard and Antetokounmpo discussed teaming up in the past, and will now get a chance to extend the championship window in Milwaukee. The pair will be among the best duos in the league, and complimentary pieces like Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez will make this team a very tough out in the Eastern Conference.
Meanwhile, Portland gets to turn their attention to a full rebuild around Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and Anfernee Simons while adding a key piece at center in Ayton, the former No. 1 overall pick who never found his footing in Phoenix. Holiday could be rerouted to another team or could help bridge the gap for the Blazers after averaging 19.3 points and 7.4 assists last year at age 32.
Phoenix gets a starting caliber center in Nurkic as well as depth options on the wing in Allen, Little, and Johnson while moving on from Ayton, who hadn't gelled with the team during his tenure with the Suns.