NBA Trade Idea Sends Damian Lillard To Magic In Offseason

The Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic are in the 2025 NBA playoffs. The Bucks are playing the Indiana Pacers in the first round, while the Magic are playing the Boston Celtics. 

The Pacers are the betting favorite in their series. Same goes for the Celtics. 

Assuming the Bucks and Magic lose in the first round, Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report proposed a trade idea for both teams. The NBA writer believes the Magic should trade for Dame Time this offseason. 

Orlando Magic Receive: PG Damian Lillard

Milwaukee Bucks Receive: G Jalen Suggs, F/C Wendell Carter Jr., G Cole Anthony, 2025 first-round pick (via Denver Nuggets)

“The Magic need a point guard, plain and simple,” Swartz wrote. “Suggs isn’t a true floor general and neither is Anthony Black, who Orlando spent the No. 6 overall pick in 2023 on. This is a team that will be tied to Trae Young, LaMelo Ball and any other elite point guard who could become available this summer. Lillard, however, would be the perfect fit for this young team in need of offensive creation, three-point shooting, playoff experience and leadership. The Magic’s 27th-ranked offense is going to doom any potential playoff run this year and no team made fewer than Orlando’s 11.2 three-pointers per game. Lillard would help elevate players like Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner and spark what’s been a horrific offense on an otherwise good team the past few years.”

Lillard didn’t play in Game 1 against the Pacers. He’s still recovering from the blood clot in his calf. 

One of the top point guards in NBA history, Lillard could play in Game 2. He’s in his second season with the Bucks after spending the first 11 years of his career with the Portland Trail Blazers. 

The Bucks lost to the Pacers in the first round of the 2024 playoffs. 

“The Bucks core of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Lillard, Brook Lopez and others isn’t title-worthy and is only getting older,” Swartz wrote. “With Antetokounmpo still in his prime, Milwaukee needs to get younger, deeper and more athletic overall. Suggs, 23, is one of the best on-ball defenders in the NBA and is signed for the next five years on a contract that drops about $3 million per season. He averaged 16.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals a game this year. Carter, 26, gives the Bucks a new potential starter at center if Lopez leaves in free agency and Anthony, 24, provides a scoring spark off the bench. The Bucks also get back into the first-round pick in the 2025 draft with their own selection owed to the Brooklyn Nets.”

Lillard averaged 24.9 points for the Bucks this season. He turns 35 in July. 

A nine-time All-Star, Lillard will make $54,126,380 next season. The NBA legend has a player option worth $58,456,490 for the 2026-27 season.