Milwaukee Bucks Wins Damian Lillard Sweepstakes

By: Melo Williams 

Welcome to the Milwaukee Bucks Damian Lillard, #FearTheDeer fans are the most excited sports fans today and possibly all season.

With all of the trade rumors around a potential Lillard trade with the Miami Heat and the Toronto Raptors as of this morning, the Bucks won the Damian Lillard sweepstakes.

Bucks newly acquired superstar point guard Damian Lillard demanded to be traded earlier this summer from the Portland Trail Blazers and Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo recently said that he’s not sure yet if he’ll agree to a contract extension with the Bucks next summer.

“Next summer it would make more sense for both parties,” Antetokounmpo said. “Even then, I don’t know. I would not be the best version of myself if I don’t know that everybody’s on the same page, everybody’s going for a championship, everybody’s going to sacrifice time away from their family like I do. And if I don’t feel that, I’m not signing.”

Milwaukee’s front office heard Giannis loud and clear and felt the pressure to act urgently because one week before the start of NBA 2023 training camp, the Bucks made a 3 team blockbuster trade sending All-Star guard Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers for Damian Lillard, the Blazers also traded center Jusuf Nurkic to the Phoenix Suns in return for center Deandre Ayton.

Full trade details:
– Bucks: Damian Lillard
– Blazers: Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton, Toumani Camara, Bucks 2029 first-round pick and Bucks pick swap
– Suns: Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, Keon Johnson, Grayson Allen

The Milwaukee Bucks 2023-24 projected lineup:

PG: Damian Lillard
SG: Malik Beasley
SF: Khris Middleton
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
C: Brook Lopez
6th man: Bobby Portis

Lillard averaged 25.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game over 11 seasons in Portland. During the 2022-23 season, he averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists in 58 games played for the Blazers. Lillard left Portland as the Blazers’ all-time leading scorer.

There are questions about the Buck’s depth at point guard, outside shooting after losing a shooter in Grayson Allen, and exactly how well Lillard fit with the Bucks.

The biggest question surrounding Damian Lillard with the Bucks is health. Will Dame be and stay healthy? Lillard has played a total of 87 games in the past two seasons.

Trading for a 33-year-old injury-prone Lillard and the $200 million left on his contract is a huge risk but worth it because when he’s on the court he’s impactful and a game-changer.

May 15, 2022, Lillard was answering questions from fans on X and a fan asked, “If you ever wanna pick a player that would help you get into the playoffs (finals maybe). Who would you pick? Only in the present time.”

Lillard responded “Giannis.”

At the 2023 NBA All-Star Game draft, Giannis was a captain of the All-Star team, Antetokounmpo was given the first pick among the reserves to kick off the draft, and Giannis drafted Damian Lillard over his teammate Jrue Holiday with the first overall pick.

Chris Haynes reported via his X account, “In a Fresno barbershop called Phase II a few months ago, Giannis Antetokounmpo was asked of the one player he would like to play with. His response was Damian Lillard.”

In another interview with GQ, Lillard said about playing with Giannis “I would say just the dominance, you know. Somebody that’s, you know, going to get to the rim. He’s a good playmaker, good defender. Disruptive and the way he plays complements the way I play. I would bring something to the table that complements what he does and vice versa.”

Last season averages:

Giannis —               Dame —
31.1 PPG                  32.2 PPG
11.8 RPG                 4.8 RPG
5.7 APG                   7.3 APG

Giannis and Dame will probably be the NBA’s highest-scoring duo this season easily. With Dame being a great pick-and-roll point guard and the pick-and-roll being a strength in Giannis’ offensive game, the Bucks will score easily between the two.

Then when you add Khris Middleton in pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop situational basketball with Lillard, the Bucks will put a lot of pressure on defenses every night.

Lillard’s loyalty, leadership, and being about community, with a blue-collar work ethic and attitude, make Dame Dolla the perfect player to co-lead the Bucks with Giannis. There’s a player by the name of MarJon Beauchamp who will learn so much for his growth and development as a player from Damian Lillard now being on the Bucks roster.

It’s not without risk, but the Bucks had to make this trade with where they are with Giannis.

It’s not that Holiday didn’t give the Bucks a legit chance to win another championship, adding Damian Lillard makes the Bucks even more dynamic with Giannis and Khris Middleton making them favorites to win its third NBA championship in franchise history.

Giannis’ long-term status with the organization is uncertain at this time, however, with the Bucks trading for Lillard is all signs Milwaukee is committed to improving the roster to increase the chances of Giannis Antetokounmpo signing his extension with the Bucks.

Antetokounmpo officially became extension-eligible last week it remains to be seen if we see Giannis sign his extension soon with the Bucks landing Damian Lillard.

The Bucks were +600 to win the NBA championship before the Lillard trade behind the Celtics (+470) and Nuggets (+480) and ahead of the Suns (+650).

The Bucks are now the favorites to win it all at FanDuel at +360.

Initially, I had mixed thoughts about the trade not liking it at first for Milwaukee. After giving it thought, I love Dame being in Milwaukee.

If everyone stays healthy, I believe the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals making it to the 2024 NBA Finals. Giannis will sign his extension and the Bucks will contend for Larry O’Brien trophies for the next 3-5 years.

This trade can end up happily ever after for the Bucks if Milwaukee wins a championship or championships like the Houston Rockets did winning two NBA titles after Portland traded their star player, Clyde Drexler to the Houston Rockets pairing him up with Hakeem Olajuwon or even Kevin Garnett from the loyalty standpoint being traded to the Boston Celtics winning a championship after being loyal to the Minnesota Timberwolves for so many years.

Dame dropped a single on social media hours after news broke that he was being traded to the Milwaukee Bucks titled “Farewell.” Farewell is available on @AppleMusic and @TIDAL.

Fear the Deer let me know your thoughts about Dame Dolla in Milwaukee.

Follow Melo on Twitter and Instagram: @_MeloWilliams