In a shocking move, the Milwaukee Bucks have waived guard Damian Lillard, and plan to stretch the remaining $113M owed on his contract in order to facilitate a deal to sign Myles Turner.
According to reports, Turner has agreed to a four-year, $107M contract with the Bucks, plus a player option for year four in 2028-29 and a full 15% trade kicker. The move is surprising both in terms of Lillard being waived, and the fact that Turner had made it public that he wanted to remain in Indiana following his team’s Game 7 loss to the Thunder last month.
However, following news that Tyrese Haliburton would likely be out for the entirety of the 2025-26 NBA season due to a torn Achilles tendon, and the club’s aversion to paying the luxury tax, Turner suddenly became expendable. Lillard is only two season’s into his Milwaukee tenure, but recently underwent Achilles tendon surgery of his own on his left foot back in May.
The 7x All-Star will now have his salary stretched over the next 5 seasons, and gives Milwaukee additional financial flexibility moving forward. The deal adds some much needed depth to the Bucks front court, and will help keep the team competitive during Giannis Antetokounmpo’s current window to compete.
In recent days the club has also come to terms with Bobby Portis, Gary Trent Jr., Taurean Prince and Kevin Porter Jr. this offseason. The team did however lose Brook Lopez to the Clippers, opening up a spot for Turner to join their core group of bigs.
The 29 year old had a team record 46 blocks during the Pacers postseason run, and averaged 15.6pts/6.5reb/2blk per game. Turner also shot a career best 39.6% from beyond the arc in 2024-25, making him a good option to help space the floor.
Lillard’s future now becomes unclear, as the soon to be 35 year old will likely still have suitors this offseason, but they’ll need to be patient given the fact that the former Trail Blazer star isn’t likely to see game action until 2026-27.
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