Asked at the Trail Blazers‘ media day on Monday if there’s any scenario in which he plays this season, Damian Lillard admitted it’s hard to envision making it back from his Achilles tear before the 2026/27 campaign. “I don’t plan on it,” Lillard said of playing in ’25/26, per Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Twitter link). There’s a different level of connectivity that comes with that,” Billups said, noting that he wants Lillard to “keep a really close eye” on Shaedon Sharpe, Deni Avdija, and Scoot Henderson (Twitter link via Highkin). Speaking on Monday to reporters, he referred to the injury as a “freak accident” and “minor setback” and said he’s still feeling positive about the season (Twitter links). 3 overall pick because he’d had an “incredible summer” prior to the injury (Twitter link).