Did the Houston Rockets Miss Out on Damian Lillard as He Returns to Portland?

Of course, that would all come to an end as the Portland Trail Blazers would shock the basketball world by bringing back the 13-year veteran guard to the city where he was drafted and spent 11 seasons before heading to Milwaukee in hopes of securing the elusive NBA championship.

With those hopes being cut short with the Bucks, it was assumed by most that Lillard would likely look for another contender as the guard will be entering his age 35 season soon.

As the Rockets put together their roster for the 2025-26 season, additions like Kevin Durant, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Clint Capela hinted at the fact that Houston was prepared to load up their team in hopes of chasing a championship.

In fact, that is what Rockets general manager Rafael Stone told the Houston Chronicle as he and the front office geared up to make trades and talk to free agents as the 2024-25 regular season came to a conclusion.

"I think continuity for continuity's sake isn't what we're trying to achieve. Continuity is great, but the goal ultimately is to build a championship team. And if we think that there's a move or a series of moves that make it more likely we will be that, then we would ignore continuity, and we do those moves," said GM Rafael Stone.

With all this being in effect, when Damian Lillard hit the free agent market, Rockets fans were intrigued at the thought of also adding the nine-time All-Star to their loaded roster as a backup or replacement point guard in the future.

NBA star Paul George would also chime in on his podcast about a move for Lillard to team up with Kevin Durant in Houston, explaining why the guard would be a great fit alongside the future Hall of Famer.

"Put him with Houston...You put him on that team where there is a KD, there's defense around him, there's length around him. I always like if it's a smaller guard, pair him with length around him... There's enough youth around him to where he doesn't have to carry the load," stated George.

It was noted by his team that the sharpshooter would take the 2025-26 season off to nurse and rehab his left Achilles, with the earliest possibility of returning being March of 2026, playing a factor for teams in bringing in the 35-year-old guard.

Ultimately, Lillard would return where he was celebrated the most, Portland, but adding a sharpshooter of his caliber to this Rockets squad could have been the icing on the cake.