Damian Lillard glad to be 'back home' with Blazers, focuses on recovery - ESPN

PORTLAND, Ore. — It hit Damian Lillard as he drove home with his kids after signing a contract to return to the Portland Trail Blazers.

He was coming home.

Lillard's three children, Damian Jr., 7, and twins Kalii and Kali, 4, accompanied him to sign his three-year, $42 million deal with the Blazers over the weekend. The contract includes a no-trade clause and he can opt out after two seasons.

«Just knowing that I'm going to be back home for all parts of my life, with my kids, playing for the Trail Blazers, driving on the same streets that I've driven on pretty much my entire adulthood, my whole family being here, my mom, my brother, my sisters, all my friends around the city of Portland,» he said. «All of those things count. I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon.»

Lillard made his fist public comments about the deal at a news conference on Monday night with Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and general manager Joe Cronin.

Lillard played for Portland for his first 11 NBA seasons before he was traded, at his request, to the Milwaukee Bucks before the start of the 2023-24 season.

A nine-time All-Star, the 35-year-old Lillard is beloved in Portland, known for pointing to his wrist to signify «Dame Time» after making big shots.

But he's not going to be be back on the court at the Moda Center any time soon.

Lillard tore his left Achilles tendon during a first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers and required surgery that will likely sideline him for the 2025-26 season.

The Bucks waived him earlier this month and stretched the remaining $113 million on his contract over five years.

«I told him that this year he's going to be the highest-paid assistant coach in league history because I'll be putting in the work every