How Damian Lillard trade to Bucks affects Celtics, East

As it was rumored throughout the offseason, Damian Lillard has officially joined one of the Celtics’ rivals in the East. But in a shocking, unexpected move, Lillard is headed to the Bucks instead of the Heat. Lillard made it clear he wanted to play in Miami, but the Trail Blazers traded their star to Milwaukee instead.

The Bucks, Blazers and Suns agreed on a three-team deal less than a week before training camps are set to open across the league. Lillard put in his trade request months ago, preferably to the Heat, but the Blazers instead picked up assets from the Suns and Bucks.

In the deal, the Bucks get Lillard. The Blazers acquired guard Jrue Holiday, a 2029 first-round pick, and picks swaps in 2028 and 2030 from the Bucks. They also got Deandre Ayton and Toumani Camara from the Suns. To help facilitate the three-team deal, the Suns picked up Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, Keon Johnson and Grayson Allen to shore up their depth.

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It’s a fascinating deal for all three teams going forward. How does it all affect the Celtics, who are title contenders themselves this season?

Of course, the headliner from this trade is the Bucks as they get to pair Lillard with superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks are in win-now mode, and considering they had a stagnant roster, they swung big by acquiring Lillard. Losing Holiday, though, is a big blow as he was one of the best perimeter defenders in the league.

But Lillard can transform rosters considering his talent. He brings incredible shooting and scoring abilities for the Bucks, which should take a lot of the scoring burden off Antetokounmpo. How Lillard fits in will be a question mark early on, but that’s an area the Bucks will be able to smooth out starting with training camp next week.

This doesn’t make the Celtics’ lives any easier with Lillard now in Milwaukee. The two teams meet up four times in the regular season in what should be some highly-regarded matchups. As of now, it looks like the Bucks will once again be the Celtics’ main rivals in the East going into next season.

It’s important to note where the Heat fit into these conversations. Miami was unwilling to up its offer to the Trail Blazers, and it doesn’t appear like any deal was particularly close. The Heat are coming off an NBA Finals appearance where they shocked both the Bucks and Celtics in the playoffs. They’ll be right back to contending next season, however improbably, though they won’t have Lillard on the roster.

Who else rises up in the East is another topic. The 76ers look like they could threaten with Joel Embiid coming off an MVP season, but they have their own issues to sift through with James Harden. The Cavaliers impressed last season, but they lost to the Knicks in the first round as they’re a young squad. The Knicks look to take that next step, though they’re also unproven.

But it’s still September. Training camp hasn’t opened up yet around the league and each contender around the league has questions to answer. The Bucks will need to incorporate Lillard into the fold, and his durability is still a concern entering his age-33 season. The Celtics remade their roster this offseason and have Kristaps Porzingis into the fold, which they hope will help push them over the edge.

The Bucks made their huge swing — how that pays off will be one of the many storylines around the league this season. On the other side, the Celtics will look to get back to the NBA Finals and win it all this time, though other teams in the East will have a say in that as well.