{"id":55896,"date":"2023-10-03T01:00:18","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T05:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=55896"},"modified":"2023-10-03T22:16:50","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T02:16:50","slug":"winners-and-losers-of-damian-lillard-holiday-shift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/10\/03\/winners-and-losers-of-damian-lillard-holiday-shift\/","title":{"rendered":"Winners and Losers of the Damian Lillard-Holiday Shift"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">DAfter months of speculation, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lillada01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Damian Lillard<\/strong><\/a> was finally traded. The move saw Lillard, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/holidjr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Jrue Holiday<\/strong><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/aytonde01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Deandre Ayton<\/strong><\/a> all experience changes of scenery, leaving the NBA landscape looking completely different. Holiday was immediately flipped from Portland to Boston, with the Trailblazers bolstering their haul from trading Lillard. 10 players and five draft assets were moved in less than a week, so <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/10\/03\/why-the-jrue-holiday-trade-makes-the-celtics-favorites-in-the-east\/\" target=\"_self\">who benefitted the most<\/a>? Who is worse off after the trades?<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Winners and Losers of the Lillard-Holiday Shift<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Winner: Phoenix Suns<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Bosnian Beast \ud83d\udcaa <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/o9AM6J56cB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/o9AM6J56cB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Phoenix Suns (@Suns) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Suns\/status\/1709002289045020977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 3, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Coming into the offseason, there was lots of speculation about this Suns roster. Sure, they had <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bookede01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Devin Booker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bealbr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bradley Beal<\/a><\/strong> and Ayton, but what about their bench? There was also lingering discomfort around Ayton, mostly concerning his relationship with his star teammates.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Suns dominated free agency with their remaining money, picking up <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/watanyu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yuta Watanabe<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bolbo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bol Bol<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gordoer01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eric Gordon<\/a><\/strong>and<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bateske01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kieta Bates-Diop<\/a><\/strong> to solidify their bench unit. With nearly $130 million sunk into their big three, they made the most of free agency with what they could.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">With whisperings of Lillard to Milwaukee heating up, Phoenix saw its opportunity to jump in. Throwing Ayton into the trade talks in exchange for <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/n\/nurkiju01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jusuf Nurkic<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/allengr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Grayson Allen<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/littlna01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nassir Little <\/a><\/strong>and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/johnske07.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Keon Johnson<\/strong><\/a>. This group of four guys is a much better fit for the Suns, especially Nurkic.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Nurkic is much more low maintenance, allowing the other three big starters to get their touches scoring the basketball. He won\u2019t be complaining about his usage and showing no effort defensively. Allen gives the bench more shooting while Little and Johnson bring more athleticism. A great offseason has the Suns with one of the best rosters in the league.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Loser: Miami Heat<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">This one is the most obvious. For months, the Heat were the obvious target to land Damian Lillard, constantly negotiating with Portland. Pat Riley could not see eye-to-eye with Joe Cronin, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/herroty01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Tyler Herro<\/strong><\/a> likely being the deal breaker. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Evidently, Portland traded Lillard Milwaukee for a lesser package than Miami would have ended up giving up. The Heat missed out on their star point guard while publicly throwing Herro and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lowryky01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Kyle Lowry<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s name into trade discussions, harming their relationship with both guards. While all seemed lost, Miami had one more chance. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Portland\u2019s intention was to immediately flip Holiday, and the Heat threw together an offer. Cronin, seemingly out of spite, again went in another direction, accepting Boston\u2019s offer. Miami will again go into this season without a star running the offense despite their efforts to obtain Lillard.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Loser:\u00a0Robert Williams<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If you look at how everything shook out with those two trades, The Time Lord is definitely the biggest loser from last week. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/williro04.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Williams<\/strong><\/a> went from being the starting center in Boston, the favorite to win the title, to being a backup to Deandre Ayton in Portland, a mid to lower tier team in the West. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Even before acquiring Holiday, the Celtics have a loaded starting lineup. Williams has been in the Defensive Player of the Year discussion for a few years, and he\u2019s an elite lob threat that provides rebounding as well. Boston swapped rim protection for wing defense, maybe believing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/williro04.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Kristaps Porzingis<\/strong><\/a> can fill that hole. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Instead of being in the chase for a ring next season, Williams will now compete with Ayton for minutes with the Trailblazers, a team looking to win years down the road. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Loser, then Winner: Jrue Holiday<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">On September 26<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">th<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, Holiday expressed his desire to retire in Milwaukee, saying, \u201cI don\u2019t want to play for any other team.\u201d A day later, The Bucks traded Holiday to Portland. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Jrue Holiday says he wants to retire a Milwaukee Buck <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want to play for any other team. I think we have a chance to continue to do great things as the Bucks team and organization so I want to be in Milwaukee.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>(Via Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/T9OFUf7neU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/T9OFUf7neU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheDunkCentral\/status\/1706662055627927702?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 26, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">He believed the Bucks could still do some great things with him on the roster and wanted to continue competing for championships. He went from that belief to being a member of the Portland Trailblazers, who finished 33-49 last season.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Fortunately for Holiday, he and Lillard\u00a0are both 33, so Holiday also did not match Portland\u2019s new timeline. Knowing this, Cronin made it public he was available for trade and just a few days later, Holiday was moved to Boston. In a matter of days, Holiday went from title contender to the playoff bubble and back to title contender. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Sure, Holiday may miss Milwaukee and feel betrayed by the organization, but if there\u2019s any place he can exact his revenge, Boston is it. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Winner, but you can\u2019t tell: Damian Lillard<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Lillard made it clear after Portland drafted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hendesc01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Scoot Henderson<\/strong><\/a> that he wanted to play for the Miami Heat. It seemed a foregone conclusion that the two sides would eventually agree to a package to send Lillard to his dream destination, but it never happened. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Eventually, Damian Lillard reportedly had a conversation with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/antetgi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/strong><\/a> about the two teaming up and days later, he was on his way to Milwaukee. Yes, Lillard wanted to go to Miami, but the Bucks give him a better chance to win a title. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/x.com\/ESPNNBA\/status\/1708255620464345459?s=20<\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Lillard has already gone through a welcome parade and media day in Milwaukee, and though his words express excitement, his face does not. Maybe it\u2019s just his stoic demeanor, but Lillard doesn\u2019t seem elated in his new situation. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Winner: Boston Celtics<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Jrue Holiday is the perfect fit for Boston, especially after they moved on from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/smartma01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Marcus Smart<\/strong><\/a>. When you look at their offseason as a whole, they virtually swapped Smart for Holiday and Williams for Porzingis. Holiday is a proven playoff performer and Porzingis is a highly skilled big. They cut some ties with beloved pieces, but the moves were necessary in order to reach the next level. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&quot;We&#39;re trying to win a championship.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Brad Stevens talks about paying &quot;a real price&quot; for Jrue Holiday <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9jTi3YXIuI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/9jTi3YXIuI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBCSCeltics\/status\/1708855812670578930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 2, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">From the looks of it, Brad Steven and the Celtics may not be done. They have an elite starting lineup and if they can round out their bench, Boston and Milwaukee could be on a collision course. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DAfter months of speculation, Damian Lillard was finally traded. The move saw Lillard, Jrue Holiday and Deandre Ayton all experience changes of scenery, leaving the NBA landscape looking completely different. Holiday was immediately flipped from Portland to Boston, with the Trailblazers bolstering their haul from trading Lillard. 10 players and five draft assets were moved [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4610,"featured_media":55907,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"modified_by":"Mike Schretter","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4610"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}