Report: Lakers would have interest in adding Damian Lillard ‘sooner rather than later’

Star floor general Damian Lillard will be up for grabs as a free agent after the Milwaukee Bucks recently opted to waive the guard in order to sign big man Myles Turner to a four-year, $107 million deal.

Lillard is expected to miss a significant chunk of the 2025-26 season at the very least after he suffered a torn Achilles tendon against the Indiana Pacers in the opening round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t teams interested in signing Lillard in the near future.

Per The Athletic’s Eric Nehm, Sam Amick and Joe Vardon, the Los Angeles Lakers are among the teams that would have interest in adding Lillard to the fold “sooner rather than later.” The Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics were also mentioned as interested teams.

“Not surprisingly, league sources say Lillard received calls from several contending teams quickly after the news of his Bucks’ ending broke,” Nehm, Amick and Vardon wrote. “League sources say the Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers are known to be among the many teams that would have interest in doing a deal sooner rather than later. The question is whether he wants to sign with a team now and rehabilitate while under their care or wait until next summer to reassess the situation. The Bucks, who will have to operate with Lillard’s money clogging their books for the next five seasons, are banking on this latest roll of the dice paying off.”

In some other media reports, Lillard has been linked to additional teams around the NBA beyond just the Warriors, Celtics and Lakers.

Lillard and star guard Luka Doncic would form maybe the most lethal offensive backcourt in all of basketball, barring a major step back from Lillard upon his return to the court from his injury. Both players are gifted scorers and playmakers and averaged 24-plus points and seven-plus assists per game in the 2024-25 regular season.

However, there would also be warranted concerns about how the duo would fare on the less glamorous side of the ball. Doncic and Lillard have never been known for their defense, and it’s reasonable to question how the Lakers would be able to consistently string together stops with the duo starting in the backcourt.

Lillard is looking for a new NBA home after a forgettable two-season stint playing alongside star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo on the Bucks. Plenty of folks thought Lillard would be the missing piece to another championship run for Milwaukee when the Bucks initially acquired him, but the team didn’t so much as win a single playoff series during his time in a Bucks uniform.

In each of his two campaigns playing for the Bucks, Milwaukee was eliminated by the Pacers in the first round of the playoffs. Most recently, the Bucks lost to Indiana in a gentleman’s sweep in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, and the Pacers made a surprise run to the NBA Finals.