The Milwaukee Bucks won the Damian Lillard sweepstakes this off-season and didn't give too much to dismantle their core. Expected to solidify their title contender status, they are inheriting the All-Star point guard who still has a three-year guaranteed contract from the Portland Trail Blazers.
Looking at the salaries of the players, ESPN's Bobby Marks shows in his post on the social media platform X the details of the three-team trade alongside their upcoming contracts in the 2023-24 season.
Just focusing on the Milwaukee Bucks, they got Damian Lillard ($45.6M) in exchange of Jrue Holiday ($36.8M) and Grayson Allen ($8.9M).
Through this deal, the Bucks have locked Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lillard for at least two years. 'The Greek Freak' also has a player option for the third year while Lillard has the same option for the fourth year.
Along with Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Bobby Portis, and Pat Connaughton are also aligned to have a third-year player option while Brook Lopez is locked for two more seasons.
With Antetokounmpo getting his wish to beef up the roster in the threat of moving out of Milwaukee if they don't do so, the Bucks can now come back to him and offer a contract extension.
Speaking in a video for ESPN, Marks said (timestamp 4:05):
"Now Milwaukee has that insurance policy to go to Giannis before October 23 and say, 'I know it's a business decision but here's a three for 196' or they have that insurance policy next off-season in mid-July when Damian Lillard is on their roster for three more years and they can say to be honest here's four for 240 or four for 230."
Milwaukee Bucks could still not be done this off-season
Now that the first domino has fallen, the Milwaukee Bucks should look to add a few missing pieces to their roster and make a better fit for Damian Lillard's arrival. In doing so, a glaring part that is missing from the team is a backup point guard.
So far in the current Milwaukee Bucks depth chart, AJ Green and Lindell Wigginton are set to play behind Lillard. But there is another former NBA All-Star who offered his services on social media to play the back-up and that is Isaiah Thomas.
"Need a backup??" says Thomas on his X account while reading the Bucks roster in Hoop Central.
Whether the Milwaukee Bucks make some changes or not, they are a huge winner for this deal and are set to be title contenders for years to come.
In the 2022-23 season, Damian Lillard averaged 32.2 points., 7.3 assists, and 4.8 rebounds while averaging 37% from the three-point line.
