The Milwaukee Bucks' decision to part ways with Damian Lillard was met with plenty of criticism, but they simply couldn't gamble on the guard's health after his Achilles tear. With a superstar in his prime, the front office decided to move on and focus on now, and that might have been the proper move, with ESPN's Shams Charania noting that Lillard will miss all of next season as a Portland Trail Blazer.
"Damian Lillard is expected to use the entire 2025-26 season to rehab the Achilles tear and then return for the Portland Trail Blazers, make his reunion and return in that arena, in 2026-27."
The Bucks and Damian Lillard both get what they want in the end
As long as Giannis is on the roster, the Milwaukee Bucks have a chance every year. They would have had one next year, but Lillard's health would have been a glaring question mark. Would he return to the lineup? If he did, how would he look? These are questions that would have loomed all year until a move actually happened. They clearly didn't want to go through that again after having to do so with Khris Middleton on multiple occasions, and his injuries weren't as bad as an Achilles tear.
By waiving Lillard, the Milwaukee Bucks got a major win-now piece in Myles Turner, who can help the franchise attempt to win next season. While Lillard may be the better player, Turner is healthy and can be in the lineup by the time next season starts. That's just not something Lillard could do as he healed from this devastating injury. Sure, perhaps Lillard could have pushed to play at some point next year and not sat out entirely, but that would have been another significant risk in terms of reinjury.
Now, Lillard can spend the whole year rehabbing with the Blazers. It has been reported that Lillard intended to rehab in Portland as a Buck before he was cut, so it's not surprising that he returned to the Trail Blazers upon his release. His family is still in the area, and he means so much to that team. Consistently, it was clear that Lillard never felt right in Milwaukee due to being away from those so close to him. Now, he will not have that problem.
All the two sides can do now is go their separate ways as gracefully as possible. This was never the way anyone expected this to go, but the Milwaukee Bucks' desire to consistently push all of their chips to the center of the table once again showcased itself here.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.