Should Celtics Rev Up Pursuit Of 9-Time All-Star?

Should the Boston Celtics double down on their reported pursuit of Damian Lillard?

The NBA world erupted with excitement this week as news broke, per ESPN’s Shams Charania, that the Milwaukee Bucks had waived Lillard.

Soon after, The Athletic swooped in with a scintillating reveal: “The (Golden State) Warriors, Celtics and (Los Angeles) Lakers are among the teams that have interest in doing a deal with Damian Lillard sooner rather than later.”

Lillard, of course, is set to miss most or all of the 2025-26 season while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon suffered on April 27.

If Boston were to acquire Lillard, it would do so with the expectation that the nine-time All-Star would return to the court in 2026-27 alongside another superstar recovering from an Achilles rupture: Celtics franchise centerpiece Jayson Tatum.

Recent moves from Boston’s president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens, have revealed that the Celtics are prioritizing getting under the second apron over being competitive in 2025-26.

With Tatum set to miss the entire season, and with Boston’s cap situation ballooning, Stevens made trades in June, cutting ties with Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, two rotational pieces from the team’s 2024 title run.

Could Boston’s current blueprint lead to a Lillard, Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White “Big 4” in 2026?

Everyone seems to be talking about the possibility.

On Wednesday, CLNS Media’s Bobby Manning discussed a potential Lillard-Celtics deal with ESPN’s Drew Carter during an episode of the Garden Report podcast.

Responding to The Athletic’s report, Manning asserted that he liked the idea of Boston landing Lillard and noted that Dame would be a better fit with the Celtics than he would be with the Lakers or Warriors.

“Compared to the Warriors (and) compared to the Lakers, there’s a stronger case for (the Celtics to be) bringing in a guy who’s going to be out for most, if not all of this season, than two teams that are trying to make the most of LeBron’s little time that he has left and Steph Curry’s remaining time in his career,” Manning said.

“Those are expensive teams, too. … The Celtics are, too, but I feel like this is a good situation for (Lillard) to rehab for a year alongside Tatum, get back on his feet the following year … and all of a sudden, you’re building around Lillard, Brown, and Tatum.”

The idea of Lillard in Boston is intriguing, at least on paper.

A lot could happen between now and 2026 to change the NBA landscape even further. Then again, if a Lillard signing is going to happen, reports indicate that it would happen soon.