Are the two best teams in the NBA now in the East?
Denver and Nikola Jokic might have something to say about that, but the arms race in the East has led to a couple of teams separating themselves from the pack in that conference. In the first move, the Milwaukee Bucks added Damian Lillard.
Sunday the Boston Celtics responded by trading for former Buck Jrue Holiday, a matchup for Lillard that could play out in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Let’s break down the winners and losers from this trade.
First, here is how the trade breaks down:
Boston receives: Jrue Holiday
Portland receives: Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon, Golden State’s 2024 first-round pick, Milwaukee Bucks’ 2029 first-round pick
Winner: Boston Celtics
Boston needed to do something bold. It wasn’t just that Milwaukee made its own power move in trading for Lillard, but that the Bucks made one that went right at the heart of Celtics — Boston sent out former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart to get Kristaps Porzingis, bringing in a big Lillard has a history of abusing in the pick-and-roll game. It made for a bad playoff matchup for Boston.
Holiday is not too far off the same quality defender as Smart (who should thrive in Memphis) and an upgrade offensively, particularly in terms of organizing the offense. Holiday changes the matchup with Milwaukee.
After this move, the Celtics may have the best six-man rotation in the league: Derrick White, Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Porzingis and Al Horford. You can nitpick their depth after that group, worry about the health concerns around Porzingis (he’s coming into camp off a foot injury), but you find the same kinds of minor concerns with any contender. Boston is that now, a genuine title contender.
Winner: Jrue Holiday’s bank account
Is Jrue Holiday a winner for moving from playing next to Giannis Antetokounmpo to playing next to Jayson Tatum? That’s up for debate.
What’s not up for debate is that the Bucks were already deep in the luxury tax and Holiday is up for a contract extension, a negotiation that was going to get sticky. Now he’s with a Boston team that allegedly wants to extend him and he wants to work with them. This could be a marriage that keeps the Celtics in the top tier of the East for a few years at least, and gets Holiday the next contract he wants.
Loser: Philadelphia 76ers
There was a time a few months back when, if you thought about the contenders out of the East next season, it was a three-team race: Boston, Milwaukee and Philadelphia. Since then, Milwaukee and Boston have significantly upgraded their rosters.
Philadelphia not only didn’t upgrade, they head into camp with James Harden disgruntled and asking for a trade. In the face of all that, Joel Embiid appears to sound a little sarcastic with a post on X (formerly Twitter).
This off-season was fun lmao
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) October 1, 2023
Embiid remains the 76ers’ and GM Daryl Morey’s biggest concern — he said he wants to win a ring, whether in Philly or somewhere else. He also reportedly told the team he would stick with them through the Harden situation, but other teams have an eye on Embiid thinking he could be the next superstar on the move. Any major decision like that probably is on hold until next summer. However, who knows how he will react if he looks around the East at the end of this season and sees a huge gap between his team and the Celtics and Bucks.
Winner: Portland Trail Blazers
When I picked the winners and losers from the Damian Lillard trade, I said Portland was TBD — I liked the first part of the trade, but the final determination could not be made until we saw what the team got back from flipping Holiday.
Now the call can be made — Portland is a winner. This is their final haul from the Damian Lillard trade: DeAndre Ayton, Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon, Warriors 2024 first-round pick, Celtics 2029 first-round pick unprotected, Bucks 2029 first-round pick unprotected, two pick swaps with the Bucks (2028 and 2030). Sorry Miami, that’s a better haul than they would have gotten elsewhere.
Don’t be surprised if Brogdon and/or Williams are traded closer to the February deadline and the Trail Blazers add to this haul. It’s also possible that after watching Ayton and Williams in their rotation, the Blazers like the fit of Williams better.
Losers: Robert Williams,Malcolm Brogdon (for now)
This isn’t a slight of Portland, but to go from a title contender — which Boston was even before this trade — to a rebuilding team is a step back for veterans. Both could be made available at the trade deadline, but the early reports are Williams in particular could be sticking around for a while as a frontline tandem with Ayton.
Loser: Heat, Clippers, other Holiday suitors
There was a long list of teams in the Holiday sweepstakes, but losing out hits a couple particularly hard.
The Los Angeles Clippers have been in need of a point guard upgrade for a couple of years but have yet to pull off a big deal. Holiday would have been a better fit on the Los Angeles roster than the long-rumored James Harden trade (which, as of the latest reporting, was dead in the water). Now the Clips have missed out on Lillard and Holiday. They remain a team that is a threat if — and it’s a big “if” — Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are healthy for the playoffs, but even then could they beat Denver or Phoenix without adding to the roster?
Miami will be good. Guys we didn’t expect will step up (because they always do for the Heat) and Tyler Herro will be back. Still, this does not look like a team that could return to the Finals. Not without what Gabe Vincent (now a Laker) and Max Strus (Cavalier) brought to the court. Miami has a roster that, with an elite point guard, could be a threat to come out of the East again, but their trade assets and relationship with the Blazers’ front office led to two swings and misses for Miami. Now their path back to the top of the conference is steep.
