Lillard trade makes Steph, Klay, Draymond last of dying NBA breed

The Wednesday trade that sent Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Milwaukee Bucks sent shockwaves throughout the basketball world — and further showed Golden State Warriors fans that their team’s championship core is, truly, the last of a dying breed in the increasingly mercenary NBA.

Lillard, Green and Bradley Beal (who was traded from the Washington Wizards to the Phoenix Suns earlier this summer) had all been tied for the third spot on this list after sticking with the franchises that drafted them in 2012. Beal was the third pick in that draft, Lillard was chosen sixth overall, and Green famously was selected in the second round with the 35th pick.

Curry, Thompson and Green had been climbing toward the top of the list in recent years as they’ve stuck together. Curry officially moved into the top spot this offseason when Heat forward (and effective player-coach) Udonis Haslem retired.

Bay Area hoops fans have always held a soft spot for Lillard, an Oakland native who played at Oakland High School before going to Weber State and then the Blazers.

But Lillard’s trade request from earlier this summer rubbed some basketball fans the wrong way, especially after his years of preaching that loyalty was so important to him and how much he hated the idea of a superteam (even as he “dreamed” of playing with certain Warriors). It seems clear that this trade to the Bucks was the best-case scenario for Lillard to get an NBA championship, as he’ll now play alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. (Ironically enough, Antetokounmpo moves to fourth on the list of longest-tenured players as he enters Year 11 in Milwaukee.)

Lillard is now just another example of an NBA superstar getting shuffled around the league to whichever spot seems to be building the best collection of imported talent to try to win a title. There remains only one team that has built things the “old-school” way, through drafting and developing its core players and then keeping them to and through the primes of their careers.

That’s the Warriors, who will also see Kevon Looney enter the top 10 of the list as he begins his ninth season in royal blue and golden yellow. 

And that may be the true separating factor for why Curry, Thompson and Green will forever be seen as legends in the league and especially in the Bay Area. Unlike seemingly any other group of players in the past 20 years, this group grew up on the floor together, won three titles together, stuck through the struggles together and won one more title together. They’ll keep trying for at least one more, too.

That, even more than just the four championships, is what will make this group special forever.