Damian Lillard 'Couldn't Be Happier' with Blazers After Bucks Exit, Talks Injury Rehab

Damian Lillard says he "couldn't be happier" to be back with the Portland Trail Blazers as he recovers from the Achilles injury he suffered at the end of his second season with the Milwaukee Bucks.

"I'm not an overly expressive person, but I think in my adulthood, coming back at here at this time, with the age of my kids, where the team is— they've developed and grown over the last couple years— being back where I've been for the first 11 years of my career, this is one of the times where I feel extremely happy," Lillard said at the 19:40 mark of a Monday episode of The Sideline with Andy Katz.

"Every day I wake up and I'm thankful. I'm waking up seeing my kids, taking them to school. I can just drive down to my mom's house. I couldn't be happier."

Lillard, who had played in Portland since the franchise drafted him in 2012, requested a trade from the Blazers in 2023 after repeatedly saying he wanted to contend for a championship. The franchise traded him to the Bucks that September.

His family, including his three young children, remained in Portland after Lillard's move to Milwaukee, per NBA.com's Casey Holdahl.

Lillard's Bucks career was derailed by injuries during the 2024-25 season, starting with the March diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis in his right calf.

He returned for the playoffs, only to suffer a torn Achilles in the first round. Lillard was waived by the Bucks in July and signed a three-year deal to return to the Trail Blazers shortly afterward.

"I had surgery, I jumped right into the things that they allow me to do," Lillard said Monday about his recovery process. "The moment that I'm allowed to do it, I do it. And I try to get into it without fear, and also protecting myself at the same time.

"I recently started back running, and I'm four months out. So I'm feeling strong. I'm feeling good about it. But I'm going to take my time to get all the way back, get it all the way healed, get it back strong, feel good on it, get my body all the way back right, so that when I return to the floor I'm not returning as a shell of myself. I plan to return and be myself."

Lillard, who turned 35 in July, didn't rule out the possibility of returning next season after signing with the Blazers in July. ESPN's Shams Charania reported around the same time there was "some optimism" he could return within eight to 10 months after undergoing surgery in May.

For now, Lillard could be called upon to serve in a mentorship role for young Blazers players like Scoot Henderson as the team prepares to begin training camp later this month.