The Boston Celtics weren’t capable of signal Damian Lillard as a free agent, however the newest reporting signifies that they did make an try.
Lillard has agreed to a three-year, $42 million contract to return to the Portland Path Blazers, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Thursday. He performed the primary 11 seasons of his profession with the Blazers after they drafted him with the No. 6 general decide in 2012. The Blazers traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks earlier than the 2023-24 marketing campaign.
The Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves had been among the many groups that made provides to Lillard, per Charania.
“He was going to spend the 12 months rehabbing his Achilles tear within the Portland space anyway, so returning to the Blazers franchise, although he requested a commerce simply two years in the past, was one thing he deeply cared about,” Charania stated Friday on SportsCenter.
“Boston, Minnesota, dozens of different groups had minimal and mid-level exception provides out to Damian Lillard within the final a number of weeks.”
Lillard tore his Achilles through the Bucks’ first-round playoff sequence in opposition to the Indiana Pacers in April, and consequently, he might miss the complete 2025-26 season.
The Bucks waived Lillard in early July, permitting him to grow to be an unrestricted free agent and signal with any crew.
Lillard would have been a pleasant addition to the Celtics roster. Even at 35 years outdated, he is nonetheless an excellent scorer. He averaged 24.9 factors per recreation for the Bucks final season. However many different groups, together with the Blazers, had been capable of provide Lillard extra money than the Celtics.
“Dame most likely wasn’t going to go someplace for the minimal. Celebrity gamers simply do not do this, even after they’re older and coming off an Achilles damage,” our Celtics insider Chris Forsberg stated Thursday on NBC Sports activities Boston present Arbella Early Version, as seen within the video participant above.
“I simply by no means actually thought it was a factor Boston might pull off. (However) it is a name you need to make if you’re able the Celtics are, and you should take some swings at low-cost guys who’ve some excessive upside if the whole lot broke proper.”
The Celtics nonetheless want extra frontcourt depth after dropping Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet this offseason. Al Horford remains to be a free agent.
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