The Milwaukee Bucks are waiving Damian Lillard and stretching the remaining $113 million on his contract in order to acquire Myles Turner, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.
Turner has agreed to a four-year, $107 million deal with the Bucks, plus a player option for year four in 2028-29 and a full 15% trade kicker, sources told ESPN.
Lillard’s two seasons in Milwaukee come to an end as the seven-time All-NBA guard rehabilitates a torn Achilles tendon after undergoing surgery in early May.
The Bucks found a creative path to waive and stretch Lillard — whose salary will be stretched over the next five seasons — while leaving their future draft assets untouched.
Turner, the longest-tenured Pacers player over 10 seasons with the franchise, made it known he wished to remain in Indiana. Since the Pacers’ Game 7 exit in the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Turner’s reps pushed to get a deal done.
Ultimately, Indiana’s aversion to the luxury tax, which grew after Tyrese Haliburton’s torn Achilles injury, allowed the Bucks to acquire their new franchise center.
The 29-year-old Turner was a big part of the Pacers’ success as the 6-foot-11 big man can capably space the floor and defend the rim. This season, he shot a career-best 39.6% from 3-point range while averaging 15.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and a team-best 2.0 blocks per game.
In a scarce market during the early days of free agency, Bucks general manager and CAA Co-Head of Basketball Austin Brown partnered on executing a complex, massive deal to reshape Milwaukee and allow the franchise to retool aggressively again around Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Bucks have agreed to re-sign Bobby Portis, while also bringing back sharpshooter Gary Trent Jr., forward Taurean Prince and guard Kevin Porter Jr. this offseason. Milwaukee lost Lopez, who signed with the LA Clippers.
