Bucks make blockbuster trade for superstar guard Damian Lillard

In the three-way trade with Phoenix and Portland, the Bucks traded away Jrue Holiday and Grayson Allen.

MILWAUKEE —

It’s ‘Dame Time’ in Milwaukee.

The Milwaukee Bucks confirmed late Wednesday night the organization landed Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard in a massive three-team trade.

The seven-time All-Star — a player so elite that he was selected to the NBA’s 75th anniversary team — goes from the Trail Blazers to the Bucks in a three-team deal that sends Jrue Holiday from the Bucks to Portland, Deandre Ayton from Phoenix to Portland and Jusuf Nurkic from the Blazers to the Suns, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because none of the involved teams had announced the agreement.

The Phoenix Suns will receive Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson, according to ESPN NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski.

Portland will also receive Milwaukee’s 2029 unprotected 1st-round draft pick, and unprotected Milwaukee swap rights in 2028 and 2030, sources told Wojnarowski.

The biggest loss is the Bucks parting ways with guard Jrue Holiday. Holiday came to the Bucks in a big trade in 2020 and was part of the championship team in 2021.

Lillard, 33, has spent his entire 11-season career in Portland. He has two years left on his four-year $176 million deal.

“The casuals won’t be addressed but the trailblazers fans and city of Portland that I love truly will be … and they will be addressed truthfully. Stay tuned,” Lillard wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Excited for my next chapter!”

It became known on July 1 that Lillard asked the Trail Blazers for a trade, which he was long speculated to be considering given his desire to play for a contender and Portland not seeming to have much of a chance with its current roster.

He wanted to go to Miami and made that clear. Portland decided not to accommodate that request, and instead, it’s the Bucks who now have an incredibly strong 1-2 punch of Lillard and Antetokounmpo heading into the new season.

Lillard was asked on Twitter in May 2022 to pick one current player he’d want to help him reach the playoffs. He gave a one-word answer: “Giannis.”