Damian Lillard is returning to the Portland Trail Blazers, and picking them over the Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves came down to one thing.
In one of the most shocking moves this offseason, the Milwaukee Bucks waived Damian Lillard to create cap space to sign Myles Turner.
Lillard suffered a brutal Achilles injury in the playoffs, which meant he would miss the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season. As such, the Bucks decided to move on from the star.
Now a free agent, Damian Lillard could sign with any NBA team that had the salary cap space to bring him in, even though he won’t play next season.
The Boston Celtics and LA Lakers wanted to sign Lillard. But in a surprising turn of events, Lillard chose to return to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Given the nature of his exit, Lillard’s return to Portland is quite surprising. But it appears there was one factor that swayed him to return.
NBA insider Shams Charania spoke on ESPN about Damian Lillard’s return to the Portland Trail Blazers. He revealed that Lillard chose Portland to be closer to his family.
Dame has three children, who are based in Portland. This is why he spurned the interest from the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, and other NBA teams to re-sign with the Trail Blazers.
“Being home in Portland, being back with his three kids, was by far the biggest, most important factor in Damian Lillard returning to re-sign with the Portland Trail Blazers.
“He was going to spend the year rehabbing his Achilles tear in the Portland area anyway. So, returning to the Blazers franchise, even though he requested a trade just two years ago, was something he deeply cared about.
“Boston, Minnesota, and dozens of other teams had minimum and mid-level exception offers out to Damian Lillard in the last several weeks.
“But I’m told Lillard, as well as Joe Cronin, the Blazers GM and head coach Chauncey Billups met in Damian Lillard’s home over the last few weeks and figured out how they’re going to reunite, bond, and move forward.”
Speaking further about Lillard, Shams revealed that the former All-Star has his plan for next season. He will spend the 2025-26 campaign rehabbing.
Then, Lillard will make his return to the Trail Blazers in the 2026-27 NBA season. Charania also pointed out how the Trail Blazers managed to flip Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday for several assets and then get them back in just two seasons.
“Damian Lillard is expected to use the entire 2025-26 season to rehab the Achilles tear, and then return for the Portland Trail Blazers to make his reunion and return in that arena in 2026-27 ahead of a player option that he’ll have the summer of 2027.
“So now, Damian Lillard is going to be in Portland. He’ll be able to rehab there, spend time in the community there, and be a leader for a young roster.
“Portland was 22-18 to end last season, they were a top-five defensive team as well, so this is a team that is clearly rebuilding, retooling.
“And think just two years ago, they traded Damian Lillard for Jrue Holiday, then they traded Jrue Holiday for more assets.
“Now, they have Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, and all these players and assets that they’ve been able to build up and deepen this team.”
The Trail Blazers picked up a huge get in Lillard. To be able to bring back the greatest player in their franchise’s history is a huge boost to morale.
The Trail Blazers fan base will be happy to see Dame back. And once Lillard recovers, he gets to play in front of those fans once again.
