Damian Lillard shockingly returned to the Portland Trail Blazers this offseason after just spending two seasons away from the franchise where he built his Hall of Fame legacy. Part of the motivation behind Lillard's return was family-related. He now has an entire season to rehab from his brutal Achilles tear in the Portland area, and also has a rare no-trade clause to guarantee he won't be going anywhere anytime soon.
But at the same time, Lillard has consistently been adamant that this was also a basketball decision. The Blazers have a much more promising long-term outlook than the team he first left, in part because of the assets they received from the blockbuster deal that landed him in Milwaukee.
Jason Quick of The Athletic recently published a piece where Lillard discusses the irony of finally having the team he's always wanted, which came at the expense of his very own trade. He says not only is this the current roster he's been waiting for, but that he's already eagerly looking ahead to creating more legacy-defining moments like the ones he had in his first stint here.
“I still think I have better moments ahead. Everything is happening in a weird way, " Lillard said. "What are the chances that I tear my Achilles and I get waived with two years left … and the first team I think of — and the first team that contacted me — is the Blazers? And me being back here … you know, I had to go away for this team to be assembled. And now it’s a team that I would have wanted to play on for years. So now I have a year to connect with this team while building my body up to get ready to go.”
Damian Lillard's return could be the Blazers' missing piece
The elephant in the room is whether Lillard will actually return to form at 35 years old. He expects that to be the case, and while history doesn't bode well in his favor, who are we to doubt Lillard after everything he's already accomplished throughout his career? Science and technology are advancing at an exponential rate, and Lillard's patient rehab approach will certainly help his chances.
He's already made it clear he has no intentions of returning in the 2025-26 season. And while the Blazers could desperately use him right about now with a depleted backcourt that has Scoot Henderson, Jrue Holiday, and Blake Wesley all sidelined, the fact that Lillard is set to return and put on a Blazers jersey at all is exciting and more than worth the wait.
From a pure basketball standpoint, it's an ideal pairing. Portland ranks in the bottom five in three-point efficiency for the third consecutive season and will benefit from having Lillard's floor spacing ability back out there. Jrue Holiday's positional versatility makes the return seemelss as well, giving whoever their head coach may be at that point even more lineup flexibility. Lillard's weakness comes on the defensive end, but the Blazers are finally well-equipped to compensate for that with Toumani Camara and Deni Avdija on the wings and Donovan Clingan anchoring the middle.
If Dame even returns as 80-90% of the player he previously was, that should be a scary thought for the rest of the league. The timing of his anticipated return aligns well with the development of Portland's young core, too. It could be just the formula needed to not only get back in the postseason but also even have a chance at a deep run.
After years of failing to surround Lillard with the necessary pieces, he's somehow now become Portland's missing piece.