Nine-time NBA All-Star Damian Lillard has reached an agreement on a three-year, $42 million contract to come back to the Portland Trail Blazers, according to sources who spoke with ESPN on Thursday.
Lillard’s contract includes a player option for the 2027-28 season and also has a no-trade clause.
In recent weeks, both Lillard and the Trail Blazers showed strong interest in making this return happen. They held several meetings involving the franchise’s star, general manager Joe Cronin, and head coach Chauncey Billups to strengthen their bond and agree on a new deal, as per sources.
Earlier this month, the Milwaukee Bucks waived Lillard, who is 35 years old, and spread out the remaining $113 million on his contract so they could sign free agent center Myles Turner.
Lillard will have a set salary of $70 million for the 2025-26 season from his deals with Portland and Milwaukee, along with a total of $141 million over the next two years before he can opt out in 2027. Officials from the Blazers and Aaron Goodwin of Goodwin Sports Management are working to finalize the details this week.
In late April, Lillard tore his left Achilles during Game 4 of the Bucks’ first playoff series against the Indiana Pacers and had surgery in early May.
He plans to spend the 2025-26 season recovering from his injury. However, returning to Portland is very important to him since that’s where his family lives, according to sources. He also received several mid-level exception offers and minimum contracts from other NBA teams that are vying for championships.
In 2023, Portland traded Lillard to the Bucks in exchange for Jrue Holiday, Toumani Camara, and other assets. They then traded Holiday to the Boston Celtics for Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon, and more assets (one of which helped them get Deni Avdija).
Now, the Blazers have both Lillard and Holiday (who they reacquired in a trade with the Celtics this offseason), as well as Avdija, Williams, Camara, a first-round pick in 2029, and two pick swaps from Milwaukee.
The Blazers aim to improve on their 22-18 record from last season, where they ranked among the top five in NBA defense and third in transition defense, as reported by ESPN Research.
Lillard played 11 seasons with the Trail Blazers, earning seven All-Star selections and being named to seven All-NBA teams. He guided Portland to the playoffs eight times, including a trip to the Western Conference finals in 2018-19. Lillard holds the franchise records for points (19,376) and 3-pointers (2,387), and he is second in assists (5,151).
In both regular season and playoff games, Lillard has recorded seven games with 55 points or more while playing for the Trail Blazers. No other player in the team’s history has achieved this feat.
