Tear it down, City! Lillard speaks for the first time after returning to the Blazers, and Wade responds: "That's how it should be."

On July 18, Beijing time, according to renowned reporter Shams, Lillard will sign a 3-year, $42 million contract with the Blazers, returning to the team he played for during the first 11 years of his career. This contract is expected to include a player option for the 2027-28 season and a trade veto right. Subsequently, Lillard updated his social media, sharing a video of the entire Blazers' locker room, where his number 0 locker was featured—

The locker room video starts with number 9, Jerami Grant, followed by Sharpe, RoCo, and Young... The video concludes with Lillard, ultimately displaying the caption: "Reunion!"

Lillard himself captioned a post on social media: "Tear it down, City!!!" Returning to the team he played for over 11 years, it's clear that he is very excited, as evident by the number of "y"s he used. His friend Wade also commented, saying: "That's how it should be!" It makes one wonder if the Flash is reminiscing about his own feelings when he returned to the Heat back in the day.

Lillard also continuously shared posts from friends congratulating him on his return to the Blazers in his IG stories.

According to previous reports from Shams, sources indicate that Lillard will use the 2025-26 season for injury rehabilitation, but returning to the team and Portland (where his family and children reside) is what he values most. Additionally, he received mid-level exception and minimum contract offers from several NBA championship-contending teams.

In 2023, the Blazers traded Lillard to the Bucks in exchange for Holiday, Kamara, and some assets; they then traded Holiday to the Boston Celtics for Robert Williams III, Brogdon, and some assets (one of which ultimately turned into Avdija).

Now, the Blazers have both Lillard and Holiday (who was re-signed during the offseason through a trade with the Celtics), along with Avdija, Williams, Kamara, a first-round pick in 2029, and two swap rights for the Bucks' draft picks.

Lillard played for the Blazers for 11 seasons, was selected to the All-Star game 7 times, named to the All-NBA team 7 times, and led Portland to the playoffs 8 times, including reaching the Western Conference Finals in the 2018-19 season. He ranks first in franchise history with 19,376 total points and 2,387 three-pointers, and second in assists (5,151).