After parting ways with the Milwaukee Bucks, Damian Lillard might be headed even further east.
The nine-time All-Star guard Lillard has mutual interest with a surprising team — the Boston Celtics. Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe reported the news on Wednesday and noted that Lillard has respect for the Celtics organization and also a longtime friendship with Boston star Jayson Tatum.
Set to turn 35 later this month, Lillard is coming off an Achilles tear suffered during the playoffs in late April that could cost him all of the 2025-26 season. Milwaukee decided to stretch and waive Lillard earlier this week in a stunning move that opened up the space for the Bucks to sign a longtime rival in free agency.
As for the Celtics, Tatum could miss the entire 2025-26 season as well as he deals with an Achilles tear of his own. Thus, Boston appears to be punting on next season (evidenced by their recent trades of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis) and have managed to get out of the second apron of the luxury tax with an eye on 2026 and beyond.
With Lillard still making over $20 million from the Bucks in each of the next five seasons, he could end up settling for either a minimum contract or for the mid-level exception with his next team. That would be a perfect outcome for the Celtics, especially with their hole at guard now that Holiday has been traded (and with Holiday’s effective replacement Anfernee Simons on an expiring contract himself).
As it stands right now, Lillard has been linked to the Celtics and a few other teams in free agency, but this is the first that we have heard of where he himself may be interested in heading. While it would be surprising to see Lillard move further away from his family in Portland, Boston appears to be a real option under consideration for him.
