The basketball world was left stunned Tuesday morning when ESPN reported a monumental move: the Milwaukee Bucks had agreed to a four-year, $107 million contract with Myles Turner, previously the center for the Indiana Pacers.
Remarkably, Milwaukee wasn`t in a position to simply absorb such a salary. The team engineered the necessary financial flexibility to sign Turner, arguably the top free agent available, by releasing future Hall of Famer Damian Lillard. Lillard, an All-Star during his two seasons with the Bucks, was still owed over $110 million for the remaining two years of his contract.
Conversely, the Pacers saw their longest-serving player depart just weeks after the franchise reached its first NBA Finals in 25 years. Notably, the Pacers, with Turner on their roster, had eliminated the Bucks in the first round of the playoffs in each of the preceding two seasons.
Leading up to Game 7 of the recent NBA Finals, Indiana seemed poised to enter the next season as a strong contender in the Eastern Conference. However, Tyrese Haliburton`s Achilles injury and now Turner`s unexpected departure have fundamentally altered the Pacers` standing. The East race, already wide open with teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks prominent, has become even more unpredictable following significant moves by the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic.
Despite the cost, the Bucks believe Turner elevates their status back into that competitive mix, continuing a pattern of bold, potentially risky maneuvers aimed at maximizing superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo`s prime years. Let`s delve into the wide-ranging consequences of Milwaukee`s surprising strategy and explore how league insiders are reacting.
Implications for the Milwaukee Bucks
With Giannis Antetokounmpo anchoring the team, the Bucks consistently operate under significant pressure to contend for championships. This pressure intensified after three consecutive first-round playoff exits, including a swift five-game defeat by the Pacers this spring.
During that series, Lillard suffered an Achilles tear, leaving the Bucks with a substantial financial commitment for an injured player ($54 million for this season) and limited draft capital to improve the roster. Antetokounmpo has publicly expressed his ambition for multiple titles, and earlier reports suggested he was evaluating the team`s offseason actions closely when considering his long-term future in Milwaukee.
Instead of primarily bringing back existing players – apart from center Brook Lopez, who signed elsewhere – the Bucks executed the offseason`s most unexpected move, acquiring a player seen as a younger version of Lopez. However, Tuesday`s decision was shocking not just for landing Turner, but fundamentally for *how* it was achieved: by waiving Lillard and stretching his remaining $112 million salary over multiple years.
Waiving and stretching such a considerable amount was met with skepticism from rival executives. One described the move as “reckless,” while another commented, “That`s a move you talk yourself into in the boardroom in July when you have nowhere else to go… They`re going to look at this in two years and say, `What did we do?`”
Myles Turner was a vital component of Indiana`s successful season, offering the sought-after combination of interior defense and outside shooting from a seven-footer. Brook Lopez had provided a similar valuable skill set for Milwaukee alongside Antetokounmpo for years. While Turner is eight years younger than Lopez, their statistical production last season was remarkably similar.
Adding to the complexity, Turner`s new contract is significantly higher, and that`s before accounting for the more than $22 million in annual dead cap money the Bucks will carry for the next five seasons due to stretching Lillard`s salary. Once a team stretches a contract, that financial obligation becomes fixed on their books. Essentially, the Bucks are committing over $50 million per year in combined salary (Turner`s contract plus Lillard`s stretched salary) for Turner`s services. The team still needs to find a way to replace Lillard`s significant offensive production (averaging 24.9 points, 7.1 assists, and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 38% from three last season) for a team that finished fifth in the East.
Implications for the Indiana Pacers
Throughout their playoff run, the Indiana organization had hinted at their intention to retain Myles Turner, who had spent his entire 10-year career with the team and served as a key leader in the locker room. Re-signing him, however, would have pushed the Pacers into the luxury tax, a threshold they haven`t crossed in two decades. Each time Indiana signaled a willingness to pay the tax, other teams wondered if it was genuine intent or simply a tactic to influence the market value of Turner, who was the most desirable unrestricted free agent center in a market with limited team spending capacity.
Nobody anticipated the Bucks creating salary cap space explicitly to sign Turner. Once Milwaukee did so, they were positioned to offer a more competitive contract than Indiana. The landscape was already complicated by Minnesota`s recent five-year, $125 million extension for center Naz Reid. As a starter on a Finals team, Turner had justifiable reason to believe his value exceeded the $25 million annual salary secured by Reid, a backup center.
Despite coming off one of his better statistical seasons, Turner`s performance declined in the later playoff rounds, particularly in the Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he averaged just 10.6 points on poor shooting percentages (37.7% overall, 21.4% from three). Nevertheless, his unique combination of skills remains rare among big men, a void the Pacers currently lack on their roster. As one rival assistant coach remarked with disbelief, “Why didn`t they pay him?”
While Indiana`s immediate prospects have undoubtedly been impacted by both Haliburton`s injury and Turner`s departure, these events could potentially benefit the franchise`s future. With Haliburton likely sidelined for the upcoming season and the Pacers holding control of their 2026 first-round draft pick, a step back in performance this season would improve their position for a higher draft selection as they await Haliburton`s return. Looking ahead, the Pacers gave Isaiah Jackson, a center who suffered an Achilles injury but shows promise, a qualifying offer, likely making him a key part of their center rotation. The pool of available free-agent centers is now significantly depleted. One prominent remaining name is Deandre Ayton, the former top overall pick recently bought out by the Portland Trail Blazers from a contract Indiana had originally signed him to before Phoenix matched it in 2022.
Impact on Giannis Antetokounmpo`s Future
Teams across the league have closely watched Giannis Antetokounmpo`s situation in Milwaukee since 2020, when General Manager Jon Horst made a significant trade for Jrue Holiday to encourage Antetokounmpo to commit long-term – a move that preceded the Bucks` championship run. Three years later, Horst utilized Holiday as the centerpiece of the package to acquire Damian Lillard.
It appears Horst has executed another major move, securing Turner, who is expected to continue providing the floor spacing and rim protection alongside Antetokounmpo that are crucial for maximizing his superstar abilities. Antetokounmpo`s contract runs through the 2026-27 season, with a player option for 2027-28.
Antetokounmpo finished the previous regular season strongly, effectively operating as the team`s primary ball-handler when Lillard was sidelined with a calf injury. This role as a “legit point forward” is something Antetokounmpo has expressed interest in in the past. In Lillard`s absence late in the season, Antetokounmpo posted phenomenal numbers (33.4 points, 15.6 rebounds, 6.6 assists on 60% shooting), a level of production he could potentially replicate next season with increased playmaking responsibilities. This elevated role could put him in contention for a third MVP award, provided he can lead Milwaukee to sufficient wins and manage the increased physical demands. Sources close to the situation indicate that Antetokounmpo and Turner are reportedly excited about the prospect of playing together.
What Lies Ahead for Damian Lillard?
This development marks a rather abrupt conclusion to Damian Lillard`s two-year tenure in Milwaukee and his pairing with Giannis Antetokounmpo, a duo that didn`t quite reach the high expectations set upon their formation in the summer of 2023. The pair shared the court for a solid 73-43 regular-season record, but they only played together in three playoff games, the last of which resulted in Lillard`s Achilles tear.
While the ending might feel unceremonious, it arguably provides Lillard with a favorable outcome for his career moving forward. The current expectation, sources suggest, is that Lillard will not immediately sign with another team for the 2025-26 season. Instead, he will receive all the money owed to him from the Bucks while gaining the flexibility to spend the next year to 18 months rehabilitating his injury. This will allow him to choose his next destination as an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career.
Although he is a free agent now, there`s little incentive for teams to rush to sign him immediately, or for him to seek a deal. Any team signing him now would only possess his non-Bird rights, significantly limiting the salary they could offer next summer without utilizing cap space or an exception. NBA collective bargaining rules also restrict drastic year-over-year salary increases within multiyear contracts, preventing a team from signing him for a minimum this season and then offering a large salary in 2026-27 once he`s healthy. Thus, patience appears to be the likely strategy for Lillard.
Ripple Effects for Other Teams
Let`s revisit a trade that didn`t receive much attention during the NBA Finals: the Indiana Pacers sending the 23rd pick in the recent draft to the New Orleans Pelicans for Indiana`s own 2026 first-round pick. New Orleans had acquired this pick from the Toronto Raptors as part of the Brandon Ingram trade a few months prior.
It was somewhat unusual for Indiana to make a trade while actively competing in the Finals, and it was also curious why the Pelicans would swap a pick in the 20s for one that had a reasonable chance of improving in value the following season. However, that trade occurred before Tyrese Haliburton`s torn Achilles in Game 7 of the Finals – an injury that made it considerably more probable the Pacers would finish outside the top tier of NBA teams next season.
In hindsight, that initial trade looks significantly less favorable for New Orleans. The Pelicans subsequently made another highly questionable move using the newly acquired pick, attaching an unprotected pick (the better of New Orleans` and Milwaukee`s 2026 selections) to the Atlanta Hawks to move up to 13th overall and draft Maryland big man Derik Queen. With both Haliburton injured and Turner now playing elsewhere, Indiana`s own 2026 first-round pick has dramatically increased its potential value. Had the Pelicans not made that initial trade, they might not only still possess their own pick – now projected to be a mid-lottery selection – but could have also held a second potential lottery pick from Indiana, whose pick was top-four protected and highly likely to fall outside that range. (Apologies to Pelicans fans; it`s been a tough week.)