This Saved Dame’s Career…

This Saved Dame’s Career…

Lillard goes down with an injury. He’s grabbing his high ankle of the left leg. Damen Lillard has suffered a left Achilles tendon tear. His season is over. Obviously, just a devastating blow. Well, part of this happened, but the return of Damen Lillard back to Portland is just a fraction of one of the craziest roller coasters we’ve ever seen. Because what included a messy divorce in Portland, a loveless marriage in Milwaukee, a tragic season ending injury, and a shocking reunion leaves Dame just where he wants to be. And it was all because of this. This is just in. The Milwaukee Bucks are waving Damen Lillard and stretching the remaining $113 million on his contract. Here’s the truth. This earns Day more money and a better career situation. I’m Jerry and this is a clust original on why Damen Lillard’s Achilles injury is actually the luckiest in NBA history and why it might have saved his NBA career. For Dame, this full circle moment actually started years ago for him in Portland. After 11 seasons with the Trailblazers, these are the things that led to his departure. Eight straight playoff appearances, no title, and in his entire Blazers career, Dame had just one all-star teammate in LaMarcus Aldridge. His next best help was CJ McCollum, who has the same strengths and weaknesses as Dame. It was time to break up. And this one was uglier than you’d expect because it became personal. Sources said during the trade process, Portland stopped all communication between Lillard and his agent, Aaron Goodwin. Now, this is where today factors in because Lillard only wanted to go to Miami. It was always the Heat or return to the Trailblazers. But Portland GM Joe Cronin told Dame there was no possibility of return after this trade request. Then Cronin worked in silence, pulling off a deal that was supposed to give Dame the best chance to win a title. On September 27th, 2023, Dame moved on from the only team that he ever played for, leading to this hall. And he was strong going into his Bucks tenure. In his first nine NBA seasons, Dne played over 80% of his games. This was supposed to be great for Lillard because after the trade, Milwaukee became the favorites and Milwaukee was thrilled. According to Cal and Cohert, clearly the Bucks for an office listened to Giannis. Dne became the reason why Giannis signed a big three-year $175 million extension just one month later, but it was destined to fail. One season before trading for Dame, the Bucks were the number one seed in the East, but lost in the first round to the Heat. And in his two seasons with Milwaukee, a third and fifth place finish out east, two first round exits, and one unfortunate Achilles injury. But it wasn’t just Lillard. Usually when a contender trades for a superstar like Dame, they lose a lot of what makes them great. Especially when that star is owed $44 million a year. That’s exactly what happened. Milwaukee was playing multiple coaches and players in dead money after terminating them in the middle of their contracts. They had no money, no promising young talent, and their veterans were getting older and more expensive by the years. Milwaukee just ran out of moves, never really having a shot to build a competitive roster. Then the injury started. In his first season with the Bucks, Dame suffered an ankle sprain and in year two, a blood clot in his right calf. These were all of his major injuries with the Bucks. And that left Achilles injury changed everything at first for the worse. But then then for the better. Let’s be clear. If Dame doesn’t rupture his Achilles, the Bucks probably don’t wave him. That means this dream that was destined to fail from the start keeps on going. But for a team that’s in win now mode, the priority remains the same. Keep your two-time MVP who’s in his prime at all cost. And losing one season of Lillard also means losing one season of Giannis’ prime. So, the Bucks had to let Dave go, which works out perfectly for him because the situation led to a wild domino effect, the largest stretch and wave deal ever, and a major positive career shift for Lillard. Now, what does that mean? The stretch provision is designed to give teams short-term salary cap relief. with $113 million still on Lillard’s contract with Milwaukee. They extended it through 2030 as he’ll now collect $22.5 million each year, even if he never plays again. And his three-year $42 million Portland deal will be added to the $22.5 million a year he’s already making. So now what? Portland didn’t have to pay Dame max money, just $14 million a season. And ironically, Dame’s situation and title odds are pretty solid for the Bucks. After waving Dame and adding Miles Turner, their odds went from plus 10,000 to plus 4,000. And Dame, whose odds were plus 10,000 with Milwaukee, is now in a team that had the second youngest roster of 2025 and ended up with all of this just 2 years after the 2023 Dame trade. He gets his money and he doesn’t break Portland’s bank. But all of this upside depends on how Dne returns from this devastating injury. These are a list of guys to return from notable Achilles injuries. Kobe and Dominique were around the same age as Dane whenever their Achilles was ruptured. Kobe only played two more seasons while Dominique went on to have an impressive second half of his career. So the possibility of a great return is there. Modern medicine and all. Most wouldn’t call an injury that can end your career lucky. he gets to return home and become a mentor for a super young NBA team. So, we ask you one more time, is this the luckiest injury in NBA history?

Damian Lillard’s achilles injury ended his season, but helped shift his NBA career back to the Portland Trail Blazers. But how did it REALLY save Dame’s career?

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