Giannis, Damian Lillard, and the Need to Win Now in the NBA

Milwaukee pushed all of its chips to the middle of the table to acquire the Blazers star, showing a commitment to winning today at the expense of the future. A tactic that has become more and more common in modern American sports

It has been nearly 4 months since All-Star point guard Damian Lillard requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers. The saga that followed was filled with presumptions that the Miami Heat would land Lillard (as that was his preferred destination) and with many words being written and said about the demise of loyalty in professional sports. This week, the saga ended with a somewhat surprising destination. Damian Lillard after 11 seasons in Portland is now a Milwaukee Buck. The trade involved the Blazers, Bucks, and Phoenix Suns to get done with some notable names changing zip codes. Jrue Holiday and DeAndre Ayton are re-routed to Portland while Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, and Nassir Little are headed to Phoenix. The Blazers also get draft assets in the deal.

And while many will spend the coming days and perhaps weeks reminiscing on Lillard’s time in the City of Roses (as was evidenced in this piece by Chris Haynes) and theorizing what will become of Jrue Holiday’s future, the real story here is the proactive nature of the Bucks to identify a star player and go after him. What the Bucks…