Lillard lonely in Milwaukee: 'I don't have much of a life'

Damian Lillard admits that he feels lonely in Milwaukee as he transitions to a new franchise and city.

"Being away from my kids is tough," Lillard told Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. "In Portland, my life was set up. My mom was down the street; my brother was the other way down the street. My sister was down the street. My kids in school. Just my whole life was set up perfectly right there. It was a great situation. So just leaving that behind alone is a lot. And then you add the basketball side to it and that is what it is."

Lillard said his life in the new city consists of going to practice and watching boxing or playing video games at home in his spare time.

"Seriously, I don’t have much of a life," Lillard said. "But that's what comes with making a big-boy decision. You got to be down for that and figure it out.

"It's definitely lonely because I’m such a family guy. My life is my family ... So I would come out, we would go to dinner. They might come to my house. After practice, I might go to my mom's house and just chill. That’s how my life was. I'm fine because I'm grown. But it's definitely lonely. I'm filled up by those people."

Lillard requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers in July of last year with a preferred destination of the Miami Heat. The Blazers traded their franchise icon to the Bucks in September after talks stalled between Portland and Miami.

The veteran guard's first season with Milwaukee has been a roller coaster. The franchise parted ways with rookie head coach Adrian Griffin despite a 30-13 start to the season. The Bucks replaced Griffin with veteran bench boss Doc Rivers to help shore up their defense, but they initially struggled to win under the new coach. Milwaukee is a mediocre 6-7 under Rivers.

The Bucks face the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday.