The NBA world is still reeling from what happened on just the second day of free agency. The Milwaukee Bucks weren't expected to make a major move, with them only having the mid-level exception to work with to improve their roster.
Instead, they pulled off a shocking move by signing longtime Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner away from the Eastern Conference champions. That move came out of nowhere, with Turner previously expected to re-sign with the Pacers.
It was initially believed that the Bucks would be pulling off a sign-and-trade with the Pacers. However, the Bucks opted to instead waive and stretch injured star Damian Lillard. Lillard is owed $113 million over the next two seasons, but by waiving and stretching his contract, Milwaukee will spread out his remaining salary over the next five seasons.
The Bucks will owe Damian Lillard over $22M a year for the next five years.
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) July 1, 2025
That will count towards their cap space for the next FIVE years.
Madness. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/ovPN7b8RHy
The Bucks will owe Damian Lillard over $22M a year for the next five years.
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) July 1, 2025
That will count towards their cap space for the next FIVE years.
Madness. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/ovPN7b8RHy
That means they will have $22.5 million in dead cap until the 2030-31 season. That, combined with Turner making $28.7 million on average over the next four seasons, means the Bucks will be paying more than a combined $51 million a year just to bring Turner in.
The Milwaukee Bucks made a gamble by waiving Damian Lillard.
The Bucks needed to replace Brook Lopez in free agency after he signed with the LA Clippers. While some expected them to make a run at Deandre Ayton, they instead landed Turner.
On one hand, they made a longtime rival much worse by stealing away the Pacers' starting center. On the other hand, they may have alienated star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
While he helped to recruit Turner to Milwaukee, he apparently wasn't aware that the Bucks would be waiving Lillard to make that move happen. Even so, it seems far-fetched to expect him to demand a trade at this point in the offseason.
After all, few teams have the necessary assets needed to pry him from Milwaukee. And even if they did, they'd be gutting their roster to do so, which will put them in a similar position to what Milwaukee is in now.
He may be better off playing out next season and seeing if Milwaukee can make noise with a younger roster. Given how wide open the Eastern Conference is expected to be with the Boston Celtics taking a big step back and the Indiana Pacers severely weakened, the Bucks might be the second-best team in the East.
Still, best-case scenario, they may be only as good as last season and won't have Lillard going forward. Now, they will be paying him $22.5 million over each of the next five seasons while he likely plays elsewhere.