The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics are the front-runners in the fight to sign a nine-time NBA All-Star.
The NBA’s free-agency frenzy has shaken up the league’s landscape, with most of the biggest names having signed with their new teams.
Myles Turner signed with the Milwaukee Bucks as the biggest signing of the offseason so far, meanwhile, Kevin Durant was traded to the Houston Rockets, and Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Lakers were eerily quiet in a disappointing start to free agency. They have since made some moves, however, picking up Deandre Ayton to fill their hole at center, and there is still a big name left on the open market.
LA Lakers and Boston Celtics lead the fight for Damian Lillard
Damian Lillard was not a name that many expected to be available in free agency. The Milwaukee Bucks waived the star guard following his Achilles tear in the first round of the playoffs, upsetting Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Lillard was unhappy in Milwaukee. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reported that he had to “actively make sure he wasn’t miserable” there. When he left the Trailblazers, he intended to go to a big market, but instead, he was traded to the Bucks.
Now he has the opportunity to choose where he goes, and according to The Athletic, the Lakers and Celtics are interested. They are the two most successful NBA franchises. Markets don’t come much bigger than those.
The Celtics are a great option. Jayson Tatum, who also tore his Achilles, is set to miss most, if not all, of the upcoming season and will return to action at a similar time to Lillard.
That allows him to focus solely on his recovery, knowing that the Celtics are not primed to contend until Tatum’s return anyway.
Meanwhile, the Lakers have also declared that their focus is on the 2027 offseason, as reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania. That makes Lillard an interesting target, allowing him to rest for the 2026/27 season, then return to play alongside Luka Doncic.
But will he also play with LeBron James? Trade rumours circulate around the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, who is considering a move out of LA.
What the LA Lakers signing Damian Lillard would mean for LeBron James
Charania’s Lakers report included the bombshell that James could leave the Lakers if they don’t make the moves to contend for a championship in the short term. That conflicts with the Lakers’ strategy of targeting the 2027 offseason.
Signing Lillard would be a statement to James. A statement that they do not care that his primary aim is to win a championship this season. Times have changed in LA, and the signing of Doncic has shifted the Lakers’ priorities.
To use up the salary cap on a player that would be unlikely to suit up in purple and gold for the upcoming season would show to James that they are not ready to compete for a championship in 2026.
James is one of the NBA’s all-time greats, and recognises that the only thing that can move the needle in the NBA’s GOAT debate with Michael Jordan is at least another championship. Even at age 40, he’s proven that he can be a star on a title-winning team.
So signing Lillard could be the move that convinces LeBron to seek options elsewhere, and request a trade for the first time in his two-decade-long career.