Why Jrue Holiday — not Dame — will impact the NBA title race

When news of Damian Lillard’s trade to the Milwaukee Bucks hit Adrian Wojnarowski’s social media on Wednesday afternoon, there was a mad dash across NBA front offices to get into meetings and Zoom calls.

Not to discuss Lillard’s fit with Giannis Antetokounmpo, delicious of a topic as that might be, but because the three-team trade with the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns opened a massive opportunity: 33-year-old All-Star guard Jrue Holiday might be on the open market.

Milwaukee’s pending superstar duo no doubt is the foundation of a potential championship team, but Holiday could end up playing an even bigger role as to who might win the title this season. This is one of the rarest transactions you see in the NBA: a league-altering trade that begets another possible league-altering trade.

The Trail Blazers just spent three months trying to squeeze together a deal for Lillard. It will be much easier to trade Holiday if, as is expected, they go forward with a youth movement and focus on assembling draft capital and move him onward.

That is not because Holiday is a “better” player than Lillard, who is one of the greatest offensive players of this generation. But because Holiday’s skill set — he’s a voracious defender coming off one of the best offensive seasons of his 14-year career — is so desired by contenders in the league. That he’s got championship experience and can play a variety of different roles only makes him more valuable on a star-laden team.

All of the teams that showed interest in Lillard could call the Blazers back to re-engage on Holiday. Plus many more.