After a two-year hiatus, Dame Time is coming back home. 🏠

PS: How well does Paige Bueckers know her DI girlfriend? Find out in the latest episode of WAG Talk!

Today’s Lineup

🎉 Happy birthday to Penny Hardaway, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, and Bam Adebayo! 🎉

Around the Association

Damian Lillard returning to Portland on three-year, $42M contract

Just under two years after being traded away from the franchise that drafted him in 2012, Damian Lillard is returning to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Shams Charania broke the news yesterday that the nine-time All-Star is finalizing a three-year, $42 million contract with his old team, which was made possible after he secured a historic $113M waive-and-stretch from the Milwaukee Bucks two weeks ago. Lillard, who reportedly received lesser offers from contenders around the league, will use 2025-26 to rehab his torn Achilles and join whichever of Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, and Shaedon Sharpe remain in Portland’s guard room next fall.

Dame’s new contract with the Blazers includes a player option in 2027-28 and a no-trade clause. We’re pretty sure Portland’s front office wouldn’t even think about trading him again because of how much this means to Blazers fans, but it’s nice to know for sure.

Oh yeah, and he’ll be making $70 million over the next couple years between his deals with both Portland and Milwaukee. Respect! 💰

🏀 🏀 🏀

Bradley Beal signing two-year deal with Clippers after buyout from Phoenix

The final shoe of the Suns’ 2025 retool just dropped: Bradley Beal has agreed to a buyout with Phoenix and plans to join James Harden and Kawhi Leonard in Los Angeles to form a new Clippers big three.

Beal, 32, averaged an efficient 17.0 points in 53 games for the Suns last year. After two years in Phoenix, he’s joining the Clips on a two-year, $11M deal with a player option in 2026-27.

The Clippers’ roster looks pretty good on paper heading into 2025-26. Their new top three’s injury histories present some cause for concern, but added depth like John Collins and Brook Lopez—not to mention rookie Yanic Konan Niederhauser—should raise Los Angeles’ floor even in the case of a major injury.

Summer League Semifinals Preview

After a week of action, it’s time for the Summer League playoffs!

While the rest of the league plays consolation games throughout the weekend, the top four Summer League teams have advanced to tomorrow’s semifinals for a chance at Sunday night’s championship game!

Let’s meet the four contenders vying for some summer hardware:

Semifinal 1: Toronto Raptors vs. Sacramento Kings (Saturday, 4 ET)

The Raptors have ridden A.J. Lawson’s consistent scoring all the way to an undefeated Summer League record, but don’t count out what No. 9 overall pick Collin Murray-Boyles has been able to do on offense for the Raps—his 20 PTS powered Toronto to a big win over Golden State last night. 2024 No. 19 pick Ja’Kobe Walter has been another impact contributor on this Toronto team stacked with promising talent—we’re especially big fans of two-way big man Ulrich Chomche.

Meanwhile, the Kings have been led on both ends by the versatile 1-2 punch of Devin Carter and Nique Clifford, who led his team in scoring with 19 PTS when the Kings took Cleveland down 94-86 and jumped out to a 4-0 record on Wednesday. Sacramento’s summer squad also includes 2024 undrafted center Isaac Jones, who balled out in the G League last year, and 2025 No. 42 pick Maxime Raynaud.

🏀 🏀 🏀

Semifinal 2: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Charlotte Hornets (Saturday, 6 ET)

Two championships in under a month isn’t far-fetched when you’re a franchise as well-run as the Oklahoma City Thunder. After claiming the 2025 title, the Thunder have a summer squad featuring some real hoopers like Brooks Barnhizer, Nikola Topic, and Ajay Mitchell. OKC’s most recent win came by overcoming 47 combined points from Jeremiah Fears and Trey Alexander to take down the Pelicans 95-81.

On the other side, Charlotte’s unbeaten Summer League run has been fueled by their stacked 2025 draft class, highlighted by No. 4 overall pick Kon Knueppel, who powered the Hornets to a semifinal berth with a stat-sheet-stuffing 19-point performance last night. Knueppel has led the charge for Buzz City alongside two-way guard K.J. Simpson and fellow rookies Liam McNeeley and Ryan Kalkbrenner.

Three in the Key

Signing Off

That’s a wrap! We’ll be all done with Summer League action after this weekend, and then it’s just three months until the 2025-26 regular season starts.

Three. Long. Months.

Austin Zeglis