THE Milwaukee Bucks are acquiring seven-time All-Star guard Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers as part of a three-team trade, multiple media outlets reported Wednesday (Thursday in Manila).
The Trail Blazers picked up guard Jrue Holiday, center Deandre Ayton, forward Toumani Camara, Milwaukee’s unprotected first-round pick in 2029 and swapped rights with the Bucks in 2028 and 2030.
The Phoenix Suns, in turn, will acquire center Jusuf Nurkic, guard Grayson Allen, small forward Nassir Little and guard Keon Johnson.
Lillard, 33, has played his entire 11-year career with Portland, which selected him with the sixth overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft.
He averaged a franchise-record 32.2 points per game in 2022-23, the third-highest clip in the league, but Portland finished 33-49 and missed the playoffs for the second straight season.
Named one of the NBA’s 75 greatest players of all-time in 2021, Lillard won Rookie of the Year honors in 2012-13 and has made the All-NBA teams seven times. He is Portland’s career leader in points (19,376) and 3-point field goals (2,387).
The Bucks’ acquisition of Lillard served to shake up the NBA futures betting landscape.
The Bucks, who had been third or fourth among teams with the best chance to win the 2023-24 championship, moved to the top of the list in most sportsbooks.
BetMGM, which had the Bucks tied for third at +650 with the Suns prior to the trade, moved Milwaukee to +400 Wednesday afternoon. The defending champion Denver Nuggets are now second at +475 with the Boston Celtics third at +500.
Phoenix, at +650 before the trade, remained at that number when the new odds were released. Following the Suns were the Lakers (+1200) and the Golden State Warriors (+1400).
DraftKings moved the Bucks from +850 to +400 favorites with the Nuggets (+475), Celtics (+500) and Suns (+650) next. The Bucks moved to +390 at DraftKings.
At PointsBet, the Bucks are at the top with +400 odds. The Suns remained at +700 while Portland moved from +15000 to +20000.
The Miami Heat, who had been strongly in contention to acquire Lillard, fell from +1000 to +3000 at BetMGM and +2800 at DraftKings.
