NBA Trade Report: Damian Lillard to reunite with the Portland Trail Blazers on a three-year, $42 million deal

The Milwaukee Bucks are making drastic moves this offseason and have shocked the basketball world by recently waiving star guard Damian Lillard to clear enough cap space to sign Indiana Pacers forward Myles Turner.

Lillard is expected to miss the majority of the 2025–26 NBA season due to injury, but the superstar is not waiting to ponder over his future. National Basketball Association (NBA) insider and ESPN’s Shams Charania confirmed on social networking platform X (formerly known as Twitter) that Lillard is set to reunite with his former team, the Portland Trail Blazers.

“Nine-time NBA All-Star Damian Lillard is finalizing a three-year, $42 million contract to return to the Portland Trail Blazers. The deal is expected to include a player option for the 2027–28 season and a no-trade clause. A storybook homecoming for the 35-year-old,” Charania wrote in his post.

BREAKING: Nine-time NBA All-Star Damian Lillard is finalizing a three-year, $42 million contract to return to the Portland Trail Blazers, sources tell ESPN. Deal is expected to include a player option in 2027-28 and a no-trade clause. A storybook reunion home for the 35-year-old. pic.twitter.com/mm1uUtMgO6

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 17, 2025

It will be a major reunion for Lillard, who spent 11 seasons with the Trail Blazers after being selected sixth overall in the 2012 NBA Draft. He left Portland on September 27, 2023, after being traded to Milwaukee in a multi-team deal. His new contract will run through the 2027–28 season, with the final year being a player option. The inclusion of a no-trade clause makes him only the second active NBA player with such a clause, joining Los Angeles Lakers icon LeBron James.

Lillard holds several franchise records with the Trail Blazers, including being the all-time leader in points (19,376) and three-pointers made (2,387). He led the team to eight postseason appearances, including a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2019.

Many believe the Bucks’ front office made the difficult decision to release Lillard due to his expected absence in the 2025–26 season. Stretching his contract allows the franchise to absorb the cap hit gradually—distributing the remaining $113 million as dead money across five seasons.

Widely regarded as one of the top guards in the NBA, Lillard is the 2013 Rookie of the Year, a nine-time NBA All-Star, the 2024 NBA All-Star Game MVP, a two-time Three-Point Contest champion, and the all-time leading scorer for the Trail Blazers.

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