Damian Lillard shockingly returned to the Portland Trail Blazers after spending just two seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks. Fans are understandably thrilled about Dame's return, with a rally being held this Sunday, September 21, at Pioneer Courthouse Square from noon to 2 p.m. to celebrate.
Lillard coming back always felt inevitable, but few expected it to be this soon. The downside of his storybook return is the unfortunate circumstances that led to this sooner-than-expected reunion. Dame tore his Achilles in the playoffs, causing the Bucks to waive and stretch his remaining salary to clear room to sign Myles Turner. Given the severity and timing of the injury, Lillard is now expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season with the Blazers.
The one silver lining is that Scoot Henderson will now have a whole season to earn the keys to the backcourt with an increased role. Still, the NBA is better with a top-75 Anniversary player actually playing. The Blazers are, too.
The Blazers have no backcourt depth
The Blazers' lack of point guard depth was recently named their biggest roster hole by ESPN's Kevin Pelton.
"With Damian Lillard spending his first season back in Portland on the sidelines because of an Achilles tear, the Blazers don't have ideal options behind Scoot Henderson and newcomer Jrue Holiday. If either misses time, Portland might be better off using Deni Avdija as a point forward instead of reclamation project Blake Wesley," Pelton writes.
It remains to be seen what version of Lillard will return. The history of players recovering from Achilles injuries doesn't bode well for him, especially at 35 years old. But Portland desperately needs Dame back out there, whatever percentage that is.
General manager Joe Cronin's shocking moves this summer created a massive hole in their backcourt that needs to be filled. Lillard will likely miss the entire season, while Anfernee Simons and Dalano Banton are both out of the picture. Some of that void will be filled by Jrue Holiday and Blake Wesley; however, Holiday is best utilized as an off-ball guard at this point in his career, and Wesley is more of a project that shouldn't be relied on to make an immediate impact.
The Blazers could have a top ten defense this season, largely thanks to their frontcourt pieces. However, there are serious question marks surrounding their offense and backcourt that will likely prevent them from ending a four-year playoff drought this season. Portland had playmaking and turnover problems last season, and just moved on from Simons, who had the best assist-to-turnover ratio on the team. They will put the ball in the hands of their young guards more, which could be in their best interest from a long-term standpoint. But it's also going to be a significant problem in the short term, one that could be too much for them to overcome.