"Celtics are definitely getting Lillard" - NBA fans react to Damian Lillard being linked to Boston and LA Lakers

The Milwaukee Bucks' shocking decision to waive Damian Lillard will have a big ripple effect around the NBA. He's currently out with an Achilles injury, so he could technically wait until next offseason to sign with another team.

Nevertheless, that won't prevent franchises from reaching out to him to try and make sure that he's all theirs by the time he returns.

According to a report by The Athletic, the LA Lakers, Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors have already expressed an interest in signing him. Needless to say, it didn't take long for social media to go viral.

Fans are sharing their thoughts and predictions about his situation. Here are some of the best reactions:

TC

@TatumCeltics

Lillard/White/Brown/Tatum next year omg

Derrick White Enthusiast (6/16) 🏆

@CsPlzWin

Come rehab with Tatum bro

Others weren't so optimistic about his chances of joining the Lakers:

Guilherme Moreira

@Guilher13633539

Makes no sense for Lakers and golden state of they have Doncic and curry at PG, lillard Will go to Miami of brooklyn for sure

Josh

@jreambigger

Lakers?? Is he wiling to come off the bench

saint

@aipattern

He should go to LA, there’s an active retirement home with LeBron

Lillard will continue to get his money from the Bucks until the 2029 season after his contract was stretched from two to five years.

Bucks finds themselves in tight spot or maybe not after waiving Damian Lillard

To say that waiving Damian Lillard was a risky move by the Bucks would be a massive understatement. Even with his big contract and amid a major injury, it's hard to believe the Bucks couldn't find at least one trade suitor for their All-Star point guard.

Now, they'll have to absorb the largest dead cap hit in NBA history. That will hamper their ability to field a competitive team around Giannis Antetokounmpo for years to come.

"With the previous trades for Holiday and then Lillard, the Bucks stripped away nearly all of their draft assets to put themselves in the conversation for the last seven seasons," reported The Athletic.

"Now, Horst has taken it a step further. Not only do the Bucks have limited draft capital moving forward, but also they now have $22.5 million less in cap space than they could have had in each of the next five seasons."

Even so, with the salary cap going up, the percentage of the money committed to paying Lillard's stretched salary will go down every year, which is why they might not be that worried.

Then again, they will have to convince their franchise player that they're doing the right moves not only to win now but also to stay competitive in the future, and that might be easier said than done.