Damian Lillard became the most highly sought-after free agent of the summer when the Milwaukee Bucks bought him out of his contract.
Lillard, 35, is currently sidelined with an Achilles tendon injury. His availability to play in the 2025-26 season is in question. Nevertheless, teams were reportedly lining up for the chance to acquire him on a cost-controlled deal.
Among the rumored front-runners were the Boston Celtics. President of basketball operations Brad Stevens has been forced to make sweeping changes to coach Joe Mazzulla's roster, primarily due to the second luxury tax apron. Lillard was projected as a low-cost, high-production addition to the roster.
However, on Thursday, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Lillard had agreed to a three-year, $42M deal to return to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Some sections of Boston's fan base may view this as a missed opportunity. Lillard, after all, is an All-Star-level point guard. Yet, it's vital to put things into perspective. There's no telling what type of player he will be once he's cleared to play again.
Furthermore, he's also the type of guard who needs the rock in his hands to be at his best. The Celtics have tried to lean on ball-dominant guards in the past, and it's never seemed to work out when next to forward Jayson Tatum and guard Jaylen Brown.
During the Celtics' run to the 2024 NBA championship, Mazzulla had three guards who could all impact the game without the ball. Jrue Holiday is an elite multi-positional defender and a reliable offensive screener. Derrick White's off-ball movement is high-level, as is his screening and tertiary playmaking. Payton Pritchard is among the best three-point shooting guards in the NBA and brings noticeable spacing to the floor.
By having guards who can impact games in a multitude of ways, Tatum and Brown were free to play their best basketball. They didn't have to overthink their touches or how they looked to create offense. And they knew they could rely on their veteran teammates to come up big when required.
Lillard wouldn't have provided that level of comfort. Figuring out how to make his tenure with the franchise work would have been a headache. Now that he's returned to Portland, Boston avoids running the risk of making a repeat mistake.
Sure, Lillard is a star-level bucket-getter. But outside of his scoring and possibly his playmaking, he brings little to a rotation that relies on two-way production.
So, yes, Boston missed out on a cost-controlled All-Star. But, in doing so, it kept its eye on the task at hand, which is retooling the roster, ready for when Tatum ultimately returns from injury.
