Grade the trade: Blazers deal Lillard to Celtics in latest lose-lose proposal

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Robert Williams III and Malcolm Brogdon could come to the Blazers from the Celtics in a Damian Lillard trade.

Robert Williams III, Boston Celtics (left), Malcolm Brogdon (Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images) /

This deal is a loss for both franchises unless the wildly expensive combination of Lillard, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis cruise to an NBA title.

Tatum is on a five-year, $163 million contract with a player option for $37 million in 2025-26 (that he’ll surely decline to sign a new, far more lucrative deal). The Celtics just extended Porzingis for two years, $60 million. Brown is eligible for an extension that could reportedly surpass the $300 million mark.

Derrick White is on the books for about $18 and $19 million the next two seasons, respectively, and 37-year-old Al Horford is still owed $19.5 million over the next two years.

Adding Lillard and his $200 million across the next four seasons is cap and luxury tax suicide, especially with the incoming second apron as part of the new collective bargaining agreement. The Celtics better win the title this season and find a way to immediately shed salary or this team is going to continue to become really, really, really expensive.

That’s all assuming majority owner and governor Wyc Grousbeck signs off on a deal that will cost his team hundreds of millions of dollars in the first place.