1 positive, 1 negative of Damian Lillard-Bucks trade for Indiana Pacers

Damian Lillard has finally been traded after months of speculation. However, it was not to the Miami Heat. Instead, Lillard has found himself in the Indiana Pacers’ own Central Division, landing with the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team trade that also involves the Phoenix Suns.

As predicted, the reactions to the Lillard trade varied, ranging from happiness and optimism from Bucks fans to despair and dread from Portland Trail Blazers and Heat fans, the latter of whom were certain they were getting Lillard.

And on top of that, general NBA fans were simply intrigued by how dominant a Lillard-Giannis Antetokounmpo duo could look in Milwaukee.

The fans weren’t the only ones getting into the drama, however, as Heat stars Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro chimed in, too, seemingly accusing the Bucks of tampering in order to get Lillard and calling for an investigation from the NBA.

Besides all that, though, this does mean that Indy’s division rival just got a lot stronger, and some other trade targets have also freed up.

In addition to Lillard joining the Bucks, a lot of other players moved around in the trade.

The Suns sent Deandre Ayton to the Trail Blazers, who also got back All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday, and former-Suns rookie Toumani Camara in the deal. Meanwhile, the Suns received Grayson Allen, Nassir Little, Keon Johnson, and ex-Blazers big man Jusuf Nurkic.

That said, the obvious star of the trade was Lillard, who will now get to square off against the Pacers a lot more during the upcoming season. A duo of Lillard and Antetokounmpo is bound to cause problems for every team in the East, and the Pacers will be subject to it more than anyone else.

Let’s take a look at exactly what the move means for the Pacers.

1 positive, 1 negative of Damian Lillard-Bucks trade for Indiana Pacers: Negative – Division rival gets stronger

Throughout the summer, all of the rumored trade destinations for Damian Lillard were in the Eastern Conference. However, very few of them were in the Central Division.

Lillard’s primary target, the Miami Heat, are in the Southeast Division, while the distant secondary target, the Toronto Raptors, are part of the Atlantic Division. However, with Lillard eventually being sent to the Bucks, the Indiana Pacers’ Central Division rival has gotten even stronger than before.

Of course, with Milwaukee and Indiana being division rivals, they will face each other four times this upcoming season, with the first matchup being on October 9 – the ninth game of the regular season.

While Indy already didn’t fare too well against Milwaukee without Lillard, earning just one win in their last eight matchups, lord knows how the Bucks are going to treat the Pacers with Lillard on the squad.

Of course, Milwaukee and Indiana are in different stages of team building, with the Bucks’ acquisition of Lillard potentially being the final move to get them closer to a championship and the Pacers looking to sneak into the playoffs for the first time since 2020, it is still noteworthy when a division rival gets stronger, and all we can do as fans is hope the Pacers can keep up with the Bucks new firepower.

1 positive, 1 negative of Damian Lillard-Bucks trade for Indiana Pacers: Positive – Potential Pacers trade target in Jrue Holiday

The biggest thing to note about the Damian Lillard trade for the Indiana Pacers, in my opinion, is not where Lillard went, but who he got traded for. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Jrue Holiday is now a Portland Trail Blazer, although probably not for too long, as Portland is going into a full rebuild this upcoming season and will be looking to move Holiday.

Personally, Jrue Holiday to the Pacers has been a dream of mine since 2020, and I think now is the best and most likely time for it to happen.

As we all know, Buddy Hield is on the trade block for the Pacers, as extension talks with him and the front office have stalled. In fact, many were clamoring for the Pacers to get involved in the Lillard trade and potentially dump Hield to a third party, similar to how they dealt Victor Oladipo to Houston in 2021.

While Kevin Pritchard and Chad Buchanan have downplayed the Hield rumors and have stated that they want him on the team, you just can’t say no to an opportunity like this.

If I’m Kevin Pritchard, I’m calling up Joe Cronin as soon as possible and offering up Hield and Denver’s 2024 first-round pick to try and snag Holiday from the Blazers before they deal him elsewhere.

While Holiday is a great player on paper, it’s the fit with Tyrese Haliburton that should put the Pacers over the edge. Holiday’s off-ball presence and superb defensive ability should fit like a glove with Haliburton’s playmaking and scoring ability.

A backcourt of those two would be dynamite to watch and could play a huge factor in the Pacers getting their first playoff berth since the Oladipo/Sabonis era.

In addition to the Haliburton fit, Rick Carlisle has had plenty of praise for Holiday in the past and would most likely love coaching him.

Personally, I don’t think the potential Buddy Hield trades get any better than this, and it would be worth giving up a late first-rounder for Holiday, whose defensive ability and leadership in the locker room speaks for itself and would really help in making Indy a playoff team.

So, while the addition of Lillard to the division may be the first change on people’s minds after the trade, the idea of bringing Holiday to Indiana is intriguing, and one that should be explored.