Celtics, Damian Lillard Continue To Express Mutual Interest

Damian Lillard and the Boston Celtics continue to show mutual interest less than a week after Lillard was waived by the Milwaukee Bucks, per Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.

”According to an NBA source, Lillard would consider signing with the Celtics, and the Celtics are indeed interested,” Washburn wrote. “A few years ago, Lillard wasn’t so keen on coming to Boston when the Trail Blazers were considering trading him. This time, however, he’s open to Boston and he has a close friendship with (Jayson Tatum), as they played together on the 2020 Team USA in Tokyo.”

Lillard is an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career after getting waived and stretched by the Bucks. 

A future Hall of Famer, Lillard was slated to make $113 million over the next two seasons. That amount will be stretched over the next five seasons.

Lillard is expected to miss a chunk of next season recovering from his torn left Achilles tendon. The veteran played in 58 games for the Bucks last season. He averaged 24.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists while shooting 44.8% from the field, 37.6% from beyond the arc and 92.1% from the free-throw line. 

A top 75 player of all time, Lillard has made nine All-Star teams and seven All-NBA teams. He won the 2012-13 Rookie of the Year Award with the Portland Trail Blazers. 

Lillard has career averages of 25.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists with the Trail Blazers and Bucks. He’s fourth in NBA history in 3-point field goals. 

Tatum is also recovering from a torn right Achilles tendon. Boston traded Jrue Holiday to the Trail Blazers and Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks to save money. 

The Celtics won the 2024 championship against the Dallas Mavericks but lost to the New York Knicks in the second round of the 2025 playoffs. 

Ashish Mathur contributed to this report.