Sep 27, 20235 min read

Runnin' From The Grind

Finally! Damian Lillard has been shipped out of Portland, ending months of drama and trade negotiations. The shocker? The Blazers did the smart thing by likely making the best deal in exchange for Dame... and it wasn't to Miami!

The Blazers get together with the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks in a blockbuster on a Wednesday in September. Here are the deeeets:

Lillard is shipped north to Milwaukee, joining the East to form a new mega-trio with Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Suns get depth while moving away from Deandre Ayton at Center, and the Blazers accept a solid haul for an ageing star with a large contract.

Big time noise of a trade that leaves several interesting headlines. Nurkic for Ayton swap. Lillard sells out as a team's number one. Blazers don't let a player and agent tell them what they can and can't do. Just the September teaser that gets basketball fans pumped for the season to start.

Needed Depth

Suns flipped Deandre Ayton and Toumani Camara for a 4-player haul in exchange that gives them more options to build some proper depth after a full roster flip in the offseason. Many are already claiming Nurkic to be a downgrade from Ayton... I fully agree. However, it seemed imminent that the Suns were going to move on from Ayton, and this was the chance.

There isn't much to rave about here for the Suns unless you are someone who wanted Ayton out of Phoenix that badly. Grayson Allen brings in some playoff experience for a bench that can use more of it. The other players are guys that will fight for small minutes at the bottom of the dressed rotation. Nothing too appealing. Nurkic and Ayton give the same level of headaches, Ayton is just far more productive on offense (just not when it matters). I give them a C. Hopefully Little and Johnson gel well with the Suns' plans. They still are developing players that now have a new opportunity to find ways to make impact for a contending squad.

Time to Move On

The Damian Lillard era in Portland is officially over, and now it's time to move on. I have no real knowledge on the offers that GM Joe Cronin had on the table... the news is cap. I do know that Cronin and the front office owed it to their organization and the fans that pay all their salaries, including Lillard's, to do what was best for the Portland Trail Blazers.

Cronin did just that by not bucklin' under the pressure and takin' Miami's cut-rate offer. Instead he brings in a solid haul with less negative impact being imminent. Blazers get a 25 year old, top-10 Center in Deandre Ayton, getting a young player that could blossom with newer beginnings and responsibilities. On top of that, they get a first rounder and two players they can flip for more future assets as they are in for a proper rebuild.

I give the Blazers a B- simply for puttin' this in the past and not rushing something outlandish. Again, I don't know the offers, if I did my grade would certainly have more clarity and weight. The Blazers did what they could do and made the future have a little more light. Ayton has more upside than a Tyler Herro, and really shapes out that Blazers rotation that will start the 2023 season on the hardwood. With Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe and all of this incoming capital, both potential and real, the Blazers came out of this lookin' pretty damn good in the sense of a rebuild.

Lillard leaves Portland after 11 seasons in which he made seven All-Star and All-NBA teams and led the franchise to the playoffs eight times, including a Western Conference finals appearance in 2018-19. He ranks first in team history in both points and 3-pointers and second in assists. Bottom line? Blazers couldn't win a Western Conference Final with Damian Lillard as their number 1.

Now Lillard runs from the grind to join Giannis Antetokounmpo, who demands as much attention in the paint as any player in the league and regularly draws double and triple-teams on drives. The addition of Dame provides the Bucks with tremendous spacing thanks to his infamous long-range shooting and elite shot creation around the perimeter. Lillard and Khris Middleton should be able to feast on open looks with Giannis disrupting the paint. Lillard's 32.2 points per game is the most by a player to change teams the following season.

In a quick reflect, trading for 33-year-old Lillard and the $200 million left on his contract is a huge gamble, especially considering Lillard has played a total of 87 games in the past two seasons. But when you factor in that the cost to retain Jrue Holiday could have reached $223 million on a new contract, the risk is voided. With that, if Holiday left next offseason as a free agent, Milwaukee had only the $12.9 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception to replace him. The move for Lillard is a no-brainer with their win-now window open and starting to creak close.

This move has some similarities... real similarities. It reminds me of another infamous Trail Blazer & one of my favorite hoopers of all-time. The trade for Dame is very Clyde "the Glide" Drexler-esque. After 10-plus years as the Blazers' No. 1 option without reaching the championship mountaintop, Drexler was traded to Houston in 1995 to team up with the game's most impactful big man in Hakeem Olajuwon to help Houston win a second ring (and Clyde's first). Nearly three decades later, Lillard could follow the same script as he joins Antetokounmpo. The Dream and Glide were an unreal duo- Dame and Giannis could add similar prestige to the basketball world and history.

The starting five is real nice and Lillard could easily be a missing piece to another title before the Lopez-Middleton-Giannis regime comes to a close. If he stays healthy of course. I think the Bucks should look to get a younger impact player for sixth-man and backup point. Dragic is meh and you hope to keep Dame as fresh as you can in the regular season. Trade wise, this is A-grade. I mean they didn't give up much besides some depth that is replaceable. Lillard elevates that offense to a major degree. Giannis and Middleton going cold led to many playoff losses. Not only do they add an elite scorer to the backcourt, but the spacing and presence of Lillard will give Milwaukee a whole new look on offense. A dangerous one. Well done to the Sandusky raised general manager Jon Horst.

Runnin' From The Grind

Needed Depth

Time to Move On

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