ESPN reported that the Milwaukee Bucks have waived guard Damian Lillard and will take the remainder of his salary to sign free agent forward Myles Turner. Turner has agreed with the Bucks on a four-year, $107 million deal that includes a player option for Year 4 in 2028-29 and a full 15% trade kicker.
The remaining portion of Lillard’s contract is worth $113 million, which he signed in 2022 when he was a member of the Portland Trail Blazers. The Bucks will owe Lillard over $22 million per year over the next five years.
Lillard spent 11 years with the Portland Trail Blazers before joining the Bucks in a blockbuster trade in September 2023 in a three-team deal that involved the Phoenix Suns. The veteran guard has averaged 24.6 points while shooting 36.4% from beyond the arc over his last two years in Milwaukee.
In a 2024–25 season plagued with injuries, Lillard, who will be 35 on July 14, was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf that caused him to miss the end of the Bucks’ regular season. While he returned a month later for the playoffs, he tore his left Achilles during Game 4 of the team’s first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers, and underwent surgery in May. Lillard is currently rehabbing the torn Achilles tendon, and is expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season.
Turner, 29, averaged 14.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and two blocks for the Indiana Pacers last season, helping to lead them to the NBA Finals. He spent his entire 10-year NBA career with the Pacers after being a first-round pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and was a three-point threat, hitting a career-best 39.6% from downtown.
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