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In one of the most feel-good stories of the offseason, the Portland Trail Blazers have reunited with Damian Lillard after two years of being apart. After the Milwaukee Bucks decided to waive and stretch Lillard's contract to open up the space to sign Myles Turner, Lillard angled for a move back home, and he got his wish, signing a three-year, $42 million deal with the team he spent the first 11 years of his career with.
Of course, Lillard is not going to suit up for the entirety of the 2025-26 season after he suffered a torn Achilles in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs. Even then, the Blazers saw enough value, beyond the sentimental factor, in bringing Lillard back. In fact, the 35-year-old veteran is looking to embrace a unique role as he remains sidelined for the whole next season.
“Like Chauncey said, I'm going to be an assistant coach. But my investment in the team will be the same,” Lillard said in his introductory press conference in his return to the Blazers, per Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report.
Lillard surely prefers to be out there on the court to try and will the Blazers back into the playoffs, but with his need to recuperate for an entire season after suffering an Achilles injury, this is the best role he can take on.
He can impart some wisdom towards the Blazers' young players, such as Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and Deni Avdija. And he won't be alone in this, as the Blazers also brought in Jrue Holiday to serve as a mentor for this young, up-and-coming team.
Lillard's the kind of person who commands the room everywhere he goes, and given how revered he is in Portland, it shouldn't take much time before the Blazers locker room becomes under his watch once more.
Damian Lillard looks just right in a Blazers uniform
The NBA world may have poked fun at Lillard when he requested a trade from the Blazers in 2023, but his decision to do so was understandable. Smaller guards in the NBA tend to face a steeper decline than their peers, and with Lillard approaching his mid-30s, he deemed that it was time to leave his comfort zone to try and compete for a title.
Alas, all he and the Bucks mustered were two first-round exits. This only proves that the grass isn't always greener on the other side, although at the very least, all is right again in the world now that Lillard is back where he belongs — on the Blazers.
