By Tobias Bass, Eric Nehm, John Hollinger and Sam Amick
The Milwaukee Bucks will waive guard Damian Lillard as part of an effort to free enough cap space to sign center Myles Turner to a four-year, $107 million contract, team sources confirmed to The Athletic on Tuesday.
Lillard, who is expected to miss most of next season because of a torn Achilles tendon, was slated to make $113 million over the next two seasons. That amount will now be stretched over the next five seasons.
Bucks general manager Jon Horst has always been aggressive as his team considers big moves to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo in a competitive situation. Lillard tearing his left Achilles in Game 4 of the Bucks’ first-round playoff series appeared to be a blow that would keep them from being a true contender in the Eastern Conference next season.
In getting Turner from Indiana, Horst once again surprised the league. Turner gives Milwaukee a highly talented replacement for center Brook Lopez and reconfigures its roster so that the team once again can compete for a top playoff seed in the East. The move also allowed the Bucks to take an important piece from an Indiana team that not only eliminated them from the playoffs but also represented the East in the NBA Finals. The Pacers have eliminated the Bucks in the first round of each of the last two seasons.
Turner, 29, is one of the few players who can replicate what former starting center Lopez did for the Bucks for the last seven seasons. Like Lopez, Turner can knock down 3s — 39.3 percent on 5.2 attempts per game — and protect the rim (two blocks per game) at a high level. Turner is also in the same age range as Antetokounmpo, almost a year and a half younger, which would allow for the duo to team up in the two-time MVP’s prime.
How will Milwaukee pull this off?
In terms of the cap mechanics, Milwaukee will waive and stretch Lillard, sign Taurean Prince with the minimum exception and sign Gary Trent Jr. and Kevin Porter Jr. into the room exception. Right now, that leaves Milwaukee with $19.6 million in cap room; it likely will get to the $24 million it needs to sign Turner by moving off of Pat Connaughton’s $9.3 million salary. — John Hollinger, senior NBA writer
What does this mean for Lillard?
League sources say Lillard is elated with this decision, as it puts him in the kind of basketball-first position that few All-Star-level players, if any, have experienced in league history. In short, he’ll be able to join the contending team of his choosing, either sometime soon or perhaps next summer, without the financial aspect of the decision playing a significant part.
With Lillard owed $54.1 million for this season and $58.4 million in the 2026-27 campaign, there is a salary offset for any team that acquires him during that two-year period. And while the Bucks would surely prefer Lillard sign for a significant salary as a way to alleviate some of their financial burden, the reality is he could sign for a minimum-salary deal and still be paid the same amount. That’s a powerful place to be when you’re a future Hall of Famer in your mid-30s who has never won a championship.
Not surprisingly, league sources say Lillard received calls from several contending teams very quickly after the news of his Bucks ending broke. The question is does he want to sign with a team now and rehabilitate while under its care or wait until next summer to reassess the situation. All in all, it’s a dream scenario for Lillard, especially considering he might have been heading for a change of scenery even before his injury.
As The Athletic reported in early May, Lillard and the Bucks were likely going to discuss whether he wanted to remain with the team after last season. From the frustrations that came with the on-court fit to Lillard struggling at times while away from his children, it was no secret that Lillard wasn’t long for Milwaukee. Now, he leaves with a level of freedom not often seen in pro sports. — Sam Amick, senior writer
(Photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
