Reason Damian Lillard chose to sign with Portland revealed

Damian Lillard has chosen to sign with the Portland Trail Blazers since being waived by the Milwaukee Bucks in a surprising move. Now we know why Lillard chose to return to Portland.

Shams Charania spoke on ESPN Thursday night about the situation.

“Being home in Portland. Being back with his three kids was by far the biggest, most important factor in Damian Lillard deciding to return and re-sign with the Trail Blazers,” Charania said.

Charania said that Lillard was going to spend time rehabilitating his torn Achilles tendon in the Portland area anyhow, so being able to reconcile with the Blazers made sense so he could be with his family.

Lillard is expected to miss the entire upcoming season while recovering from his injury. He signed a 3-year deal with Portland but might only be able to help them on the court for two of the three years.

Lillard, 35, spent the first 11 seasons of his NBA career with the Blazers, where he was a popular athlete and made the area his home. He asked for a trade and was sent to Milwaukee, for whom he played the last two seasons. He played in 73 games for the Bucks during his first season with the team and in 58 games last season before suffering his torn Achilles tendon.

Though Lillard was consistently linked to some other clubs, he ended up choosing Portland for family reasons.