Blazers' Updated Roster, Starting Lineup, Salary Cap After Damian Lillard Trade

The Portland Trail Blazers will look very different next season after reportedly agreeing to a massive three-team trade that sent star point guard Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the deal also includes the Phoenix Suns and allowed the Blazers to acquire Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton, Toumani Camara, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick from Milwaukee and swap rights with Milwaukee in 2028 and 2030. The Suns received four players in the deal: Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson.

Thanks to the sweeping changes, Portland's roster now looks like this (starters in bold) :

• PG: Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson
• SG: Anfernee Simons, Rayan Rupert
• SF: Shaedon Sharpe, Matisse Thybulle, Kris Murray
• PF: Jerami Grant, Toumani Camara, Jabari Walker
• C: Deandre Ayton, Moses Brown

According to Spotrac, the Blazers now have a total salary cap of $177.4 million, which puts them over the max for the 2023 season by over $41 million.

Per RealGM, the Blazers still owe the Chicago Bulls a first-round draft pick that will only be sent to them if it lands outside of the lottery. Assuming that gets resolved next season, Portland would then own its first-round selections every year from 2025 to 2030. The additional 2029 first-round pick plus the pick swaps with Milwaukee give the Blazers additional capital to potentially include in future trades.

Replacing Lillard is no small task, but the Blazers may not be done dealing. Wojnarowski reported Portland is looking to shift Holiday in a separate deal after moving Lillard. The two-time All-Star has been selected to an All-Defensive team five times with three first-team selections. His veteran presence should be coveted by multiple contenders and help accelerate Portland's rebuild.

Ayton is the other headliner of Portland's return for shipping away Lillard. He will be tasked with replacing Nurkic, but he should be motivated after a disappointing end to his tenure in Phoenix.

The 25-year-old had a disappointing showing in the playoffs this past year, averaging just 13.4 points per game and looking disengaged multiple times throughout the postseason before the Suns were eliminated in the conference semifinals by the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets.

ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported after their elimination that Ayton's teammates in Phoenix were experiencing "frustration with what they perceive to be inconsistent effort and aggression from the 7-footer."

In his fifth NBA season, the seven-footer didn't make much progress toward becoming a dominant center. He averaged 18.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 0.8 blocks while shooting 58.8 percent from the field. In 2021-22, he averaged 17.2 points, 10. 2 rebounds and 0.7 blocks on a 63.4-percent shooting clip.

Ayton's best moments on the court came during Phoenix's run to the 2021 NBA Finals. He shot 65.8 percent from the field that postseason and displayed the ability to take over games when needed.

However, the 2018 No. 1 overall pick hasn't been able to sustain that level of play throughout a season during his time with the Suns.

Perhaps a change of scenery will benefit Ayton, as he joins a Blazers unit that finished with a 33-49 record last season and fell short of the playoffs. He should benefit from playing alongside a veteran power forward like Grant, and he will likely be one of the team's top offensive options going forward alongside Henderson and Simons.