The trade that changed the Portland Trail Blazers may not have looked like much when it happened on March 15, 2012. Portland sent Gerald Wallace to the New Jersey Nets and got Sean Williams and Mehmet Okur back, along with a first-round pick that would end up reshaping the franchise.
That pick became Weber State point guard Damian Lillard, and the rest of the story has played out across more than 14 years. Lillard became the Blazers’ all-time leading scorer and the face of the team’s best run of the era. He pushed Portland to the playoffs in eight of his 11 seasons, reached the second round in 2014 and 2016, and got the Blazers to the Western Conference Finals in 2019, where they lost to Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
His numbers tell the same story. Lillard is the franchise leader in points with 19,376, in 3-point field goals and free throws, and he sits second all time in assists with 5,131. He may not have created the greatest era in team history, but he has been arguably the best player the franchise has ever had.
And the trade tree didn’t stop there.
In 2023, Lillard asked to be moved after Portland dropped out of title contention, and he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks to join Giannis Antetokounmpo. That deal brought Toumani Camara to Portland, and Camara has started 160 games for the Blazers over the last two seasons.
The Bucks trade also set off another chain reaction. Portland ended up with Jrue Holiday, who was later sent to the Boston Celtics that same offseason for Malcolm Brogdon.
Brogdon then became the main piece in a 2024 trade to the Washington Wizards for Deni Avdija. Avdija led the Blazers in scoring in 2025-26 and made his first All-Star team.
So the original Wallace deal has kept paying off in layers. It delivered Lillard, then helped bring in Camara and Avdija, giving Portland two of its long-term starters. It also left the Blazers with the right to swap first-round picks with Milwaukee in 2028 and 2030, and those swaps should become even more valuable now that Giannis was traded to the Miami Heat this offseason.
In Other News...
Damian Lillard Trade Still Defines Where The Blazers Are Headed
The Damian Lillard era in Portland ended the way so many franchise pivots do, with a trade that was years in the making and impossible to separate from the teams larger direction. After spending so long trying to build around him, the Trail Blazers finally sent Lillard to Milwaukee in 2023, taking back a package that signaled a new phase for the roster and a willingness to move on from the old core rather than keep chasing it.
What has made the deal linger is how quickly the basketball ecosystem around it shifted, with Lillards time in Milwaukee producing its own new chapter before Portland found itself back in familiar territory with both Lillard and Jrue Holiday in the picture. It has created a strange full-circle feel for the Blazers, one that keeps the trade at the center of any conversation about where the franchise went, what it gained, and how much of that old partnership still hangs over the present. [Read more 🡒]
Damian Lillards Portland Return Just Got More Complicated
Damian Lillard is gearing up for an NBA return in the 2026-27 season after missing the previous year with a ruptured Achilles, and the comeback conversation in Portland is already taking shape. The Trail Blazers, who recently acquired Ja Morant, are expected to make Lillard a priority when he is ready to play again, a reminder that his place in the franchise picture remains a major part of the plan.
Lillard has reportedly been putting in the work this offseason to give himself the best shot at making the return count, even as questions linger about his age and injury history. For Portland, the challenge is less about whether Lillard still matters and more about how to balance that reality with a roster that has changed around him, leaving his next chapter with the team very much in motion. [Read more 🡒]