logo
Winners, Losers from Damian Lillard's return to Portland Trail Blazers

Winners, Losers from Damian Lillard's return to Portland Trail Blazers

Yahoo18-07-2025
Within minutes of Damian Lillard's shocking release by the Milwaukee Bucks this summer, speculation about a landing spot began. The first names to come up were places he had expressed interest in previously — Portland and Miami — but not long after Golden State, Boston and the Los Angeles Lakers emerged as teams with interest. This was expected to be a long, slow process, during which Lillard would spend time recovering from his torn Achilles and considering his options.
It didn't take long — Lillard is returning to Portland on a three-year, $42 million contract.
That starts with him making $14 million from Portland this season — on top of the $54.1 million Milwaukee bought him out of. That's $68 million in this season, which he will miss most — and most likely all — of recovering.
Let's break down the winners and losers from this move — and it's pretty much all winners.
WINNER: Trail Blazers fans/basketball fans
This is an emotionally satisfying result.
Lillard could have spent this season rehabbing, watching how the league played out, then signed where he thought he had the best chance to chase a ring. Or, he could have waited and started a bidding war next summer to see who would pay him the most money and chased the almighty dollar.
Instead, he chose to follow his heart — he didn't wait and he chose the city he loves and that his family calls home, the franchise where he will go down as the greatest player in its history (all due respect to Bill Walton and Clyde Drexler). This is just good for sports.
It's been a good summer for Blazers fans. The franchise is being sold, a long overdue move. Adam Silver stated in Las Vegas this week that the league prefers not to see the team relocate cities (a polite way of saying it's not going anywhere), and the new owners will need to build a new arena. They drafted Yang Hansen, who may or may not pan out, but is infectious to watch.
And now Damian Lillard is coming home.
WINNER: Damian Lillard
When Damian Lillard was first traded to Milwaukee he was excited — he got to play with Giannis Antetokounmpo on a contender. This was an opportunity for him to cement his legacy with a ring.
Turns out, the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Lillard learned that the hard way and struggled to adjust to life away from his family, which remained in Portland.
Milwaukee cutting Lillard lose means he had total control of whatever happened next: He could go where he wanted, when he wanted, and for as much money as he could get in the process. He got to set the priorities.
Portland was the priority. Lillard gets what he wants, and at essentially the mid-level exception, even for the year he is rehabbing. That's a fair price.
WINNER: Portland's Young Stars
Mentoring young players matters. As talented as someone entering the league might be, having a professional organization and veteran presence in the locker room that shows them how to be an NBA player matters.
Scoot Henderson, Toumani Camara, Donovan Clingan, Shaedon Sharpe, Yang Hansen and the rest of the young Blazers now have Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday in the locker room — two high-level, consummate pros.
This is only good for Portland in the long run.
LOSERS: Teams that struck out on Lillard
These teams lost out, but it's not fair to call them losers — they were never going to win this sweepstakes.
Still, the Miami Heat had flirted with Lillard going back to his trade out of Portland, he would have been a great fit next season. Boston reportedly showed interest, with Jayson Tatum handling the recruiting himself. It's not hard to imagine Tatum's pitch: "We know what it takes to get a ring, with your shooting and playmaking, when we reload in a year you can get your ring."
The Warriors were reportedly interested, and a backcourt featuring Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard would be fearsome. The Lakers reportedly showed interest, and Lillard, as a shooter and secondary shot creator alongside Luka Doncic in a year, would have been an interesting addition (and Doncic and Lillard would have formed the most clutch team in league history).
All of those teams had good cases to make. But Portland… there's no place like home.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Westchester softball team advances to Little League World Series
Westchester softball team advances to Little League World Series

Yahoo

time7 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Westchester softball team advances to Little League World Series

The softball team from Westchester Del Rey Little League won the West Regional in San Bernardino on Friday, beating Tucson 12-2 in a five-inning mercy rule to advance to the Little League World Series in Greenville, N.C. Pitcher Gabriela Uribe started the game with three scoreless innings and ended up finishing. After an early 2-2 tie, Westchester broke the game open. Westchester's pitching has been very good behind Uribe and Kaylee Braunlich. Paul Vogler is the team's coach. Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Kurtz becomes first MLB rookie with 4-homer game as A's beat Astros 15-3
Kurtz becomes first MLB rookie with 4-homer game as A's beat Astros 15-3

CBS News

time9 minutes ago

  • CBS News

Kurtz becomes first MLB rookie with 4-homer game as A's beat Astros 15-3

Nick Kurtz became the first major league rookie to hit four homers in a game, leading the Athletics to a 15-3 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday night. Kurtz went 6-for-6 with eight RBIs and six runs scored. He's just the second player in Major League Baseball history to have four homers in a six-hit game, joining Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 23, 2002, at Milwaukee, and he matched Green's MLB record with 19 total bases. It was the first six-hit game for the Athletics since Joe DeMaestri on July 8, 1955, at Detroit. The 22-year-old also had a single and a double that hit just below the yellow line over the visitor's bullpen in the fourth inning. Kurtz singled in the first and his two-run homer in the second put the Athletics ahead 5-0. His solo shot in the sixth made it 10-2. His third homer was his longest, a 414-foot drive into the second deck in the eighth. Kurtz's final homer came against outfielder Cooper Hummel, a three-run, opposite-field line drive to the Crawford boxes in left field that made it 15-2. Kurtz extended his hitting streak to 12 game,s and his 23 home runs are the most for an A's rookie since Yoenis Céspedes in 2012 and fourth most in franchise history. Tyler Soderstrom and Shea Langeliers also homered for the A's, who had a season high in runs. Jeffrey Springs (9-7) allowed two runs over six innings. Zack Short hit a two-run homer for Houston in the fifth. Ryan Gusto (6-4) allowed eight runs on eight hits over 3 1/3 innings. Hummel had allowed one run and retired two batters in the ninth when Kurtz hit a 77 mph, 2-0 pitch for his fourth homer. Kurtz is batting .553 (26 for 47) with nine homers and 20 RBIs during his 12-game hitting streak. Houston RHP Hunter Brown (9-4 2.57 ERA) opposes LHP Jacob Lopez (3-6 4.60 ERA) when the series continues Saturday.

Lindor homers, leading Mets past Giants 8-1 for fifth straight win
Lindor homers, leading Mets past Giants 8-1 for fifth straight win

CBS News

time9 minutes ago

  • CBS News

Lindor homers, leading Mets past Giants 8-1 for fifth straight win

Francisco Lindor homered in the third, Brandon Nimmo added a two-run single in the fourth and Juan Soto drove in two runs as New York backed Clay Holmes, and the Mets beat the San Francisco Giants 8-1 on Friday night for their fifth straight win. Holmes (9-5) surrendered one run and six hits over five innings with two strikeouts and a walk for his first win in five starts since beating Atlanta on June 25. New York got on the board in a hurry against All-Star Logan Webb (9-8). Nimmo doubled leading off the game and scored on Soto's RBI groundout, while Lindor singled after Nimmo and Pete Alonso drove him home on a sacrifice fly. Soto added an RBI single in the ninth. Webb has had back-to-back rough outings. He was tagged for a career-high tying 11 hits over six innings of a 6-3 loss at Toronto on Saturday, then gave up six runs and eight hits in four innings Friday. The Giants' lone run came on a groundout by Willy Adames in the first. New York kicked off a stretch of nine consecutive games against the NL West by extending its streak that has come on the heels of a three-game skid. The Mets are seeking their first series win in San Francisco since 2018. The Giants placed right-handed starter Landen Roupp on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in his pitching elbow, recalling righty Tristan Beck from Triple-A Sacramento. Beck relieved Webb to begin the fifth. With Adames at second with a two-out double in the third, Matt Chapman was originally ruled safe at first on a throwing error by third baseman Ronny Mauricio. But the Mets challenged the tag call and Chapman was ruled out on replay review to end the inning. Lindor wound up 3 for 5 with his 20th home run, a double and three runs scored with a pair of strikeouts after snapping his 0-for-31 drought Wednesday against the Angels. LHP David Peterson (6-4, 2.90 ERA) pitches Saturday night's middle game for the Mets opposite Giants LHP Robbie Ray (9-4, 2.92) as he tries again for double-digit victories with a three-start winless stretch.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store