Damian Lillard has become a popular name in the NBA after his release from the Milwaukee Bucks. After the Bucks worked out an agreement with free agent center Myles Turner, the decision was quickly made to move on from Lillard.
Now, the question becomes, which teams could show interest in Lillard? He’ll miss most of if not all of the 2025-26 season due to a torn Achilles suffered in the first round of the playoffs.
Despite the injury, Lillard is a legitimate star point guard. There will be teams willing to take a gamble on a two-year deal with him with the patience to wait for him to return to the court.
Which teams could those be? NBA insider Chris Haynes suggested two potential options.
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Those two options are the Miami Heat, who tried to acquire Lillard before he was traded to the Bucks. Haynes also suggested that the Portland Trail Blazers could look to reunite with Lillard this offseason.
“Look out for the Miami Heat…Throw Portland in there as well,” Haynes said.
Lillard taking his talents back to Portland would be an amazing storyline. He was the face of the Trail Blazers for years before being traded to Milwaukee. Seeing him return to finish out his career where it started would be awesome.
During the 2024-25 NBA season with the Bucks, Lillard missed time with a blood clot issue before tearing his Achilles. He played in 58 games before the blood clot issue popped up.
In the 58 games he played, the 34-year-old guard averaged 24.9 points per game to go along with 6.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.2 steals. He also shot 44.8 percent from the floor overall and connected on 37.6 percent of his three-point attempts.
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He may be aging, but Lillard was still playing at an elite level before the Achilles injury. Should he be able to return to that level of plays after recovery, whoever signs him would be getting a franchise caliber player.
Portland may not end up pursuing him aggressively. However, the Trail Blazers could offer Lillard a familiar place to play that he was very comfortable with for most of his career.
As for the Heat, Pat Riley has been looking to make a splash. Lillard wouldn’t be a splash for this season, but he could be exactly what Miami needs to get back into contention during the 2026-27 season if the Heat were to sign him to a two-year contract.
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