Compare the haul: Bradley Beal vs. Damian Lillard

The 2023 offseason saw two franchise stars get traded away from the only franchise they’ve ever played for. But who got the better return package?

With the 2023-2024 season upon us, we can officially close the books on a wild 2023 offseason. Fred VanVleet left Toronto to go play in Houston, Victor Wembanyama went first in the draft to San Antonio, Kristaps Porzingis landed in Boston, and James Harden asked out of Philadelphia.

With all the movement that happened over the summer, there wasn’t anything more noteworthy than the separate transactions that saw Damian Lillard end up with the Milwaukee Bucks and Bradley Beal with the Phoenix Suns.

Two franchise players who played ten-plus years for their respective teams and saw ups, downs, and everything in between as the lead men; Lillard now finds himself playing as the presumed second man in Milwaukee alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo while Beal looks to be the third option in Phoenix next to Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.

While the focus understandably will be on these stars and their new teams’ title aspirations, the teams that they left behind had to be fairly compensated. Both the Portland Trail Blazers and the Washington Wizards had hurdles to jump with Lillard’s desire to only be traded to the Miami Heat and Beal being the only player in the NBA with a no-trade clause.

With both teams having their work cut out for them, it is safe to say that they both made out pretty well all things considered. Both teams are beginning their rebuilds and needed some pieces to help kickstart their new era.

For the purpose of this article, the trades that sent Chris Paul from Washington to Golden State and Jrue Holiday from Portland to Boston will be included in the haul, as the goal was to take a look at the full packages and not just the individual trades.

With that being said, let’s take a look!