Damian Lillard returning to Blazers on three-year deal
After getting frustrated with the Portland Trail Blazers’ inability to compete during his prime with the struggling NBA franchise, superstar guard Damian Lillard pushed his way out and landed with the Milwaukee Bucks to join forces with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Unfortunately for Lillard, things didn’t go as planned during his stint with Milwaukee, as the Bucks never lived up to expectations, and the perennial ended up suffering a torn Achilles during the NBA playoffs. This shed a lot of doubt about his future.
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Lillard was ultimately waived by the Bucks, making him an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his Hall-of-Fame-caliber career. It didn’t take long for Lillard to decide what to do in what will likely be the twilight of his time in the league, as he has agreed to a three-year deal to return to the Blazers, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.
Nine-time NBA All-Star Damian Lillard agreed to a three-year, $42 million contract to return to the Portland Trail Blazers, sources told ESPN on Thursday.
Lillard’s deal includes a player option in 2027-28 and a no-trade clause.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this deal is the no-trade clause, which only LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers possesses in the league, following the Phoenix Suns’ recent buyout of Bradley Beal.
With Lillard still early in the rehab process, he’ll be spending the upcoming NBA season getting his body right to return at 100 percent.
Lillard will use the 2025-26 season to rehabilitate his injury, but a return to the franchise and Portland, where his family and children reside were of the ultimate importance, per sources. He also had multiple midlevel exception and minimum offers from NBA contenders, per sources.
It’ll be interesting to see what the future holds for Lillard and the Blazers now that fences have been mended and the superstar is no longer looking to finish his career with a title contender.
