Damian Lillard Explains Impact of Giannis, Bucks Stars After Trade from Blazers

Damian Lillard doesn't sound too heartbroken about not getting his desired trade to the Miami Heat.

The seven-time All-Star attended the Milwaukee Bucks' media day Monday and hit all of the expected notes when speaking to reporters.

"Coming into this situation is very, very easy," he said. You look at Giannis (Antetokounmpo), you look at Khris (Middleton), you look at Brook (Lopez)... it was very easy to make sense of what my job was going to be."

Lillard expressed excitement about what he can do with Antetokounmpo in the pick-and-roll and how Giannis' presence will divert some of the defense's attention away from him.

Both Lillard and Antetokounmpo spoke about how Dame's arrival symbolized the organization's lofty expectations.

Andscape's Marc J. Spears reported last Wednesday that Lillard's agent reached out to the Bucks and Brooklyn Nets to say the dynamic guard was interest in a move there. He had previously signaled publicly a desire to line up alongside Giannis.

That's why the idea that it was the Heat or bust for Lillard never made a lot of sense, nor did the notion the Portland Trail Blazers wronged their star player by sending him to Milwaukee.

Antetokounmpo is the best teammate the 33-year-old has ever had, and the 2023-24 Bucks are the strongest team on which he will have played. Why wouldn't he be enthusiastic about this opportunity?

Plenty of star pairings have failed to meet expectations in recent years.

The Brooklyn Nets' superteam experiment with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden was a bust, and that's where Harden's partnership with Joel Embiid on the Philadelphia 76ers is trending. An NBA Finals appearance remains elusive for the Los Angeles Clippers after adding Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. It's too early to judge Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić's time together with the Dallas Mavericks or the Rudy Gobert/Karl-Anthony Towns frontcourt tandem with the Minnesota Timberwolves, though the early returns in both cases aren't encouraging.

But with Lillard, Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Lopez leading the way, Milwaukee is clearly one of the strongest title contenders heading into opening night. And the two-man game between Dame and Giannis will mask a lot of the on-court difficulties that can arise when making such a significant trade.