The NBA free agency period hasn't had tons of shocks... until right now. According to Shams, the Milwaukee Bucks have signed free agent center Myles Turner to a four-year, $107 million contract with a player option in the final year. Turner was pretty widely assumed to stay in Indiana — where he's played his entire career — but Milwaukee swooped in and grabbed the rim-protecting, floor-spacing center.
In order to make room for Turner, the Bucks have waived Damian Lillard, who will likely miss all of 2025-26 with an achilles tear he suffered in the NBA Playoffs. It's a heartbreaking end to Lillard's tenure in Milwaukee, which never worked out as he, or Bucks fans, had hoped.
Milwaukee suddenly has one of the more dynamic frontcourts in the East with Giannis' dominance inside and Turner's ability to knock down 3-pointers — he shot a career-best 39.6 percent from deep last year.
Here's how I see Milwaukee's lineup shaking out with Turner in the mix — and without Dame in the mix anymore.
Projected Bucks lineup after signing Myles Turner
Starter | Bench | Position |
|---|---|---|
Kevin Porter Jr. | Ryan Rollins | Point guard |
Gary Trent Jr. | AJ Green | Shooting guard |
Kyle Kuzma | Taurean Prince | Small forward |
Giannis Antetokounmpo | Bobby Portis | Power forward |
Myles Turner | Jericho Sims | Center |
Bucks frontcourt is suddenly elite
The departure of Brook Lopez hurt Milwaukee's depth at center, and signing Turner immediately bolsters it once more. Now, instead of Bobby Portis likely starting at the five, Turner takes over that spot and Portis can come off the bench at either frontcourt spot, with Jericho Sims also getting some minutes. This totally changes the complexion of this team in a good way. All the things that Lopez provided at his peak, Turner provides for the next four years. It's a complete home run move from GM Jon Horst, who appeared to be asleep at the wheel to this point.
Of course, Damian Lillard's absence will likely cast Kevin Porter Jr. into a starting role for this year... and maybe beyond. He was pretty good in the minutes he got last year and Milwaukee brought him back on a two-year, $11 million deal. There's a lot of trust in Porter Jr. from this front office.
Even when Lillard comes back in 2026-27, it's hard to believe that he'll look like the dominant, explosive scoring guard he was in his prime. This is a really, really sad ending to the Dame era in Milwaukee.
Myles Turner changes a lot for Bucks
What started as a pretty sad free agency period full of bringing back role players has suddenly changed into something promising for Milwaukee after the Turner addition. I still don't think Milwaukee is good enough to compete for the conference title with Porter Jr. as the starting point guard and Kyle Kuzma still a huge part of the lineup, but in the short-term this moves the needle — a few more savvy trades and the Bucks could be right back in the mix.
UPDATE: Originally, I ended this piece talking about how this move would show Giannis that the Bucks are trying to build a competent team around him. But since I published it, Chris Haynes (one of Damian Lillard's good friends, for the record) reported that Giannis is "not pleased" with the Bucks' decision. So, never mind on all that, I guess.
I still like the Turner signing, though. Sorry!