The Milwaukee Bucks shockingly signed Myles Turner to a four-year $107 million contract and followed this up by waiving Damian Lillard. While Turner is a perfect fit for the Bucks, waiving Lillard will likely come back to haunt Milwaukee. Given Lillard’s Achilles injury, he will likely miss all of next season and will be 36 upon returning in the 2026-27 season. As a result, this decision is less likely to hurt the Bucks from an immediate basketball standpoint but rather from a salary and future flexibility standpoint. Let’s dive into how waiving Dame hurts the Bucks.
What is the waive and stretch provision?
The Bucks were able to waive Lillard using something called the waive and stretch provision. This allows teams to essentially cut players while still delivering them their full salary over an extended number of years. Notably, waiving Dame was the only way the Bucks could afford Turner. Still, it’s an unprecedented move as Lillard’s contract is the largest waive and stretch in league history, nearly tripling when Nicolas Batum was waived by the Charlotte Hornets back in 2020.
How much money do the Bucks still owe Damian Lillard?
The formula to waive and stretch contracts is years left on the deal multiplied by 2 plus 1. In Lillard’s case, he had two years left on his deal worth $112.5 million, meaning the Bucks owe him $22.5 million over the next five seasons. Notably, Lillard's salary was barely eligible to be waived, as stretched salaries cannot exceed 15% of the cap or $23.1 million.
Undoubtedly, having $22.5 million in dead money for five seasons will significantly hamper the Bucks' future flexibility. The Bucks are pretty much locked into this core without many avenues to improve it, especially since they don’t own their first-round pick until 2031. While landing, Turner does help the Bucks are still far from title contention.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is solely focused on winning. It remains likely that he will start the season with the Bucks, but if they get off to a poor start or they have an overall disappointing he could request a trade. Giannis requesting a trade has been a much-speculated possibility given the Bucks’ recent shortcomings.
As a 2027 free agent, it’s also possible that he will play out his contract in Milwaukee but ultimately leave in free agency. Furthermore, Chris Haynes reported that Giannis was “not pleased” by the Bucks' decision to waive Dame. Overall, this move could lead to the end of Giannis’ tenure with the Bucks. Whether the Bucks attempt to remain competitive or are forced to start a rebuild, waiving Lillard will ruin their financial flexibility for the next five years.