The Portland Trail Blazers are searching for direction, in the midst of an extended rebuild which is starting to see them win more, but not at a high rate and not quickly. That rebuild was started back in 2023 when the Blazers traded franchise-defining point guard Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Lillard has had a mixed tenure in Milwaukee. His scoring average of 24.9 points per game is strong, but injuries have robbed him of games and effectiveness and Milwaukee doesn’t appear to be challenging for another NBA championship anytime soon. With a bloated salary cap and high expectations, they’re in a bit of a mess.
Let’s pretend that the Bucks decided that the Lillard experiment wasn’t working. He has two years left on his contract, $54 and $58 million respectively. He’s about to turn 35. It wouldn’t be completely out of the ordinary for Milwaukee to be having second thoughts at this point.
If the Bucks made Lillard available for trade, would you want the Blazers to move to take him back?
Under this year’s salary cap, a package including Anfernee Simons, Robert Williams III, and either Scoot Henderson or Shaedon Sharpe would work. So would a package of Deandre Ayton and Sharpe, Henderson, or both. Jerami Grant packages are also workable but Milwaukee would be taking on extra salary, not less, and wouldn’t be getting that much younger, so that seems unlikely.
Critically, the Blazers would probably need to give back at least the pick swap they earned from Milwaukee in 2030 for the original Lillard trade.
I’ve left out packages that include Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara, figuring that they would provide the defensive backbone that would make reacquiring Lillard a viable move, at least for the next couple seasons.
So, if you could bring Dame back, would you do it? What would you give up for the privilege? This was a heated discussion in Blazer’s Edge back channels last night. We’re bringing it out in the open for you to decide the matter today. Let us know in the comments section!