Woj: Damian Lillard Traded to the Bucks (Official)

[Atzar]

I'd give my left hand if we could somehow trade Brogdon + pieces for Jrue, haha.  Alas, it's not in the cards.

I was thinking the same thing, lol.  Jrue is one of my favorite non-Celtics in the league. 

[theswitch]

I'd give my left hand if we could somehow trade Brogdon + pieces for Jrue, haha.  Alas, it's not in the cards.

I could argue Jrue + Grayson for Dame both ways. I think it's a pretty close call because getting Dame was always going to take a huge price. Jrue, however...an expensive player for two years who isn't a name brand? But is a perfect fit for literally any contender and is nearly the player that Lillard is anyways? Man, someone is going to transform their title odds by scooping him up without giving up a core, core piece.

[blink]

Bucks have issue defensively vs Boston

They will have more issues defensively after getting rid of Jrue Holiday.

I know Lillard is a highlight machine, but I am not convinced that the Bucks are drastically better after the trade.
I hope for our sake that they aren't.

But you have to hand it to the Bucks, GA was making statements that he wants to win, they at least made a move that might help keep him.

[keevsnick]

Bucks have issue defensively vs Boston

They will have more issues defensively after getting rid of Jrue Holiday.

I know Lillard is a highlight machine, but I am not convinced that the Bucks are drastically better after the trade.
I hope for our sake that they aren't.

But you have to hand it to the Bucks, GA was making statements that he wants to win, they at least made a move that might help keep him.

The bucks #1 problem before this trade was scoring in the half court in the postseason. This pretty much solves that. They are different, but much better now.

[blink]

Bucks have issue defensively vs Boston

They will have more issues defensively after getting rid of Jrue Holiday.

I know Lillard is a highlight machine, but I am not convinced that the Bucks are drastically better after the trade.
I hope for our sake that they aren't.

But you have to hand it to the Bucks, GA was making statements that he wants to win, they at least made a move that might help keep him.

The bucks #1 problem before this trade was scoring in the half court in the postseason. This pretty much solves that. They are different, but much better now.

I thought their problem was they couldn't stop the Heat in the 1st round of the playoffs and gave up 124 points per game to them.   And they just traded away their best def player.   But maybe DL's offense will offset all of that?  Sure maybe?  I am not saying that Lillard isn't a fantastic scorer.  But we have seen cases of how adding a great scorer to another great scorer doesn't always work out. 

[theswitch]

I'm trying to figure out the Bucks depth chart:

PG -- Lillard,
SG -- Connaughton, Beasley
SF -- Middleton, Crowder
PF -- Giannis, Portis
C -- Lopez, Portis

So at guard you have Lillard, and then...I consider Connaughton a pretty nice backup and Beasley a fringe NBA player. So it's basically just Dame. Connaughton is okay. No depth at all.

Middleton was a shell of himself but he's still a good player. Crowder...is somewhat done at the small forward position? I regard him similar to Beasley. So just Middleton.

Giannis, Lopez, Portis is the best big man rotation in the game and is top notch in all combinations.

It's just very, very top-heavy. If Middleton doesn't bounce back, then they have atrocious wing depth and either way will require Dame to play 40+ minutes a game in the playoffs because there's no backup for him. Am I missing someone? All-in moves can work...it can just cut against you too. Is Dame going to hold up getting switched onto Brown and Tatum or Herro and Butler all game?

[Goldstar88]

Bucks have issue defensively vs Boston

They will have more issues defensively after getting rid of Jrue Holiday.

I know Lillard is a highlight machine, but I am not convinced that the Bucks are drastically better after the trade.
I hope for our sake that they aren't.

But you have to hand it to the Bucks, GA was making statements that he wants to win, they at least made a move that might help keep him.

The bucks #1 problem before this trade was scoring in the half court in the postseason. This pretty much solves that. They are different, but much better now.

I’m not convinced. They just got a lot worse defensively. Hopefully Joe will exploit that matchup with the J’s.

[celticinorlando]

Don’t think dame is healthy for a season
Don’t think Middleton is anywhere near the player he use to be

Bucks bench not very good. If Boston can keep the bigs healthy not sure how the bucks handle it.

Plus the bucks defense nowhere near as good

[Atzar]

One thing I'd say against the new-look Bucks is that I don't see a point-of-attack defender anywhere on that roster.  Maybe they swing another trade, or maybe they just trust that they can outscore whatever defensive limitations they have.  Maybe Giannis plays on ball more often?  That would work well against us because our playmakers are wings, but I could see a team with quick scoring guards (Cleveland comes to mind) giving them a lot of problems. 

Of course, the reverse of that is that Mitchell and Garland ain't stopping Lillard, either.  They look good.  A Lillard-Giannis pick-and-roll is going to be filthy.

[Moranis]

I'm trying to figure out the Bucks depth chart:

PG -- Lillard,
SG -- Connaughton, Beasley
SF -- Middleton, Crowder
PF -- Giannis, Portis
C -- Lopez, Portis

So at guard you have Lillard, and then...I consider Connaughton a pretty nice backup and Beasley a fringe NBA player. So it's basically just Dame. Connaughton is okay. No depth at all.

Middleton was a shell of himself but he's still a good player. Crowder...is somewhat done at the small forward position? I regard him similar to Beasley. So just Middleton.

Giannis, Lopez, Portis is the best big man rotation in the game and is top notch in all combinations.

It's just very, very top-heavy. If Middleton doesn't bounce back, then they have atrocious wing depth and either way will require Dame to play 40+ minutes a game in the playoffs because there's no backup for him. Am I missing someone? All-in moves can work...it can just cut against you too. Is Dame going to hold up getting switched onto Brown and Tatum or Herro and Butler all game?

How is Beasley a fringe NBA player? Dude played 26 mpg in 81 games for 2 teams last year averaging 13 ppg (basically has been that level for several seasons). They also have Beauchamp who should be more reliable in his 2nd year.  Bench obviously took a hit as it always does when you trade multiple players for 1, but you historically win championships by how good your starters are

[theswitch]

I'm trying to figure out the Bucks depth chart:

PG -- Lillard,
SG -- Connaughton, Beasley
SF -- Middleton, Crowder
PF -- Giannis, Portis
C -- Lopez, Portis

So at guard you have Lillard, and then...I consider Connaughton a pretty nice backup and Beasley a fringe NBA player. So it's basically just Dame. Connaughton is okay. No depth at all.

Middleton was a shell of himself but he's still a good player. Crowder...is somewhat done at the small forward position? I regard him similar to Beasley. So just Middleton.

Giannis, Lopez, Portis is the best big man rotation in the game and is top notch in all combinations.

It's just very, very top-heavy. If Middleton doesn't bounce back, then they have atrocious wing depth and either way will require Dame to play 40+ minutes a game in the playoffs because there's no backup for him. Am I missing someone? All-in moves can work...it can just cut against you too. Is Dame going to hold up getting switched onto Brown and Tatum or Herro and Butler all game?

How is Beasley a fringe NBA player? Dude played 26 mpg in 81 games for 2 teams last year averaging 13 ppg (basically has been that level for several seasons). They also have Beauchamp who should be more reliable in his 2nd year.  Bench obviously took a hit as it always does when you trade multiple players for 1, but you historically win championships by how good your starters are

Eh -- Beasley is a shooter who can't shoot anymore. 35% from three after being 40%+ for a while. Less than 40% overall from the field. Doesn't offer really much of anything else. Advanced metrics disaster (0.032 WS/48, negative BPM, essentially zero VORP) unless I'm missing something. Horrible defender. He puts up nice headline stats but there's a reason he's onto team four in a couple years. There's maybe still something there...he clearly has been able to shoot in the past and in Milwaukee he should be able to have plenty of open looks, but I would've thought the same thing on the Lakers. The Lakers trusted him with 8 minutes per game in the playoffs where he shot 27% from three and 29% overall for three points a game. He's still young enough and is just entering his prime, I'd just bet against him.

Beauchamp...we'll see. He didn't exactly set anything on fire in year one. Who knows.

[Moranis]

Bucks have issue defensively vs Boston

They will have more issues defensively after getting rid of Jrue Holiday.

I know Lillard is a highlight machine, but I am not convinced that the Bucks are drastically better after the trade.
I hope for our sake that they aren't.

But you have to hand it to the Bucks, GA was making statements that he wants to win, they at least made a move that might help keep him.

The bucks #1 problem before this trade was scoring in the half court in the postseason. This pretty much solves that. They are different, but much better now.

I thought their problem was they couldn't stop the Heat in the 1st round of the playoffs and gave up 124 points per game to them.   And they just traded away their best def player.   But maybe DL's offense will offset all of that?  Sure maybe?  I am not saying that Lillard isn't a fantastic scorer.  But we have seen cases of how adding a great scorer to another great scorer doesn't always work out.

in games 4 and 5 they collapsed in the 4th quarter. Blew a 16 point lead and then lost in OT in the clincher and blew an 11 point lead to lose by 5 in the prior game.  Butler scored 35 points in the 4th quarter of those 2 games and they basically shut Giannis down and no one else stepped up.  With Lillard, they close those games out and win the series (obviously the early part is different with Dame, but they need the closer).

[A Future of Stevens]

I like this deal for Portland a lot more than the garbage Miami was floating out there. Ayton isn't perfect, but he fits the mold of player that can grow with a young floor general.

[jpotter33]

😂😂😂 to all the Miami fans.

But, man, this could make Milwaukee really dangerous, though it’s also risky. Jrue is probably more reliable as they age, and they now put a big hole in their defense that wasn’t there, though that’s offset by the offense gains.

[jpotter33]

Butler calling out the Bucks for tampering.

https://x.com/heatvshaters/status/1707103058201620957?s=46&t=lGU0TGXtwjkuVuoin6WTNw

Have to say, don’t like that he landed in Milwaukee, but it’s downright hilarious that Miami fans talked so much crap all summer just to be left empty handed 😂