The Milwaukee Bucks have taken a big swing on the second day of NBA free agency, signing former Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner to a four-year, $107 million deal. To make the deal work, they’re waiving All-Star point guard Damian Lillard and stretching the remaining $113 million left in his contract.
The surprise move is an attempt to vault the Bucks into contention in the weakened Eastern Conference, as Lillard may have missed the entire 2025-26 season due to a torn Achilles.
We’ll break down both sides of the deal, providing grades for both Milwaukee and Indiana in terms of their outlook moving forward.
Breaking Down Myles Turner Signing With the Milwaukee Bucks
ESPN’s Shams Charania was the first to report the deal. In a post on X, he wrote, “BREAKING: Free agent center Myles Turner has agreed to a four-year, $107 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, plus a player option for year four in 2028-29 and a full 15% trade kicker, sources tell ESPN. Stunner.”
BREAKING: Free agent center Myles Turner has agreed to a four-year, $107 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, plus a player option for year four in 2028-29 and a full 15% trade kicker, sources tell ESPN. Stunner. pic.twitter.com/MlDkZusVOv
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2025
Minutes later, Charania posted again, including the details of Lillard being waived.
“Just in: The Milwaukee Bucks are waiving Damian Lillard and stretching the remaining $113 million on his contract in order to acquire Myles Turner, sources tell ESPN. Lillard’s two seasons in Milwaukee come to an end as he rehabilitates a torn Achilles tendon.”
Let’s grade both sides of the deal, starting with the Bucks, who take a big swing with hopes of keeping superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo happy and vaulting them into contender status.
Milwaukee Bucks Analysis
In the span of exactly nine minutes, per Charania’s posts, the outlook of Milwaukee’s franchise had drastically changed, especially considering the massive domino that may have fallen if the Bucks didn’t make enough headway in free agency signings.
Antetokounmpo had reportedly expressed that he was “open minded” as far as where he’d finish his career — with many seeing that as an indirect signal to the Bucks’ front office to improve the team’s roster.
That’s exactly what Milwaukee general manager Jon Horst did on the second day of free agency in signing Turner. The seven-foot stretch 5 was an integral part of the Pacers’ run to the NBA Finals, providing timely jumpers and protecting the rim on the defensive end.
He’s an ideal 1-for-1 replacement for seven-year starting center Brook Lopez, who has a very similar skill set and departed in free agency, signing with the Los Angeles Clippers. Turner’s age (29 years old) makes him an immediate upgrade over Lopez, who will be entering his age-37 season with the Clippers.
In the process, the Bucks ended Lillard’s tenure, waiving him and making him an unrestricted free agent. Coming over in a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers, his two years in Milwaukee were filled with few highs and a lot of low, disappointing moments.
Lillard and Antetokounmpo were seen as potentially one of the greatest duos that the NBA had ever seen, but failed to develop the chemistry needed for success.
The move, a necessity for the Bucks to make the Turner signing happen, reportedly didn’t make Antetokounmpo happy in the ways that Horst may have hoped, per senior NBA insider Chris Haynes.
In a post on X, Haynes wrote, “BREAKING: Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is not pleased with the team’s decision to waive Damian Lillard, league sources tell me.”
BREAKING: Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is not pleased with the team’s decision to waive Damian Lillard, league sources tell me. pic.twitter.com/NGqJIWRQeq
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 1, 2025
Yes, it is just a report minutes after a massive move for the franchise. It’s still too early to fully digest the deal and the pending waive of Lillard’s contract, even for someone so in tuned with the franchise like Antetokounmpo.
This move makes the Bucks better right now. And with Antetokounmpo going to be 31 years old in December and a play style rooted on physicality and athleticism while lacking a reliable jumpshot, the time is now for Milwaukee to go all in while he’s still in his prime.
Though there are still moves to be made, especially at point guard (which would’ve been a vacant spot because of Lillard’s injury anyway), the Bucks got better by signing Turner and have given themselves a better chance at competing in an Eastern Conference without a clear favorite.
Bucks Grade:Â B+
Indiana Pacers Analysis
As soon as All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton crumbled to the floor in the first quarter of Game 7 in the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, it became apparent that the Pacers’ future plans were about to change.
The replay didn’t look good, and the diagnosis confirmed the obvious: a torn Achilles in the final game of the 2024-25 season, making it a huge question if Haliburton would even suit up at all for 2025-26.
As the engine behind the entire ethos of the offense which included pace, quick passing and quick decisions, Haliburton’s injury was sure to set off several moves this offseason. And in Turner’s case, it was what they didn’t do.
At the end of the day, the four-year, $107 million deal must’ve proved to be too much for Indiana as they toe the line of the luxury tax. As a small-market franchise and not having much, if any, chance of competing for a title next season with Haliburton sidelined, there wasn’t much excuse to dip into the tax.
It’s an extremely unfortunate set of events that led to Turner departing to Milwaukee. In reality, there’s not much they could’ve done.
As far as pivoting to the future, Indiana only has one center under contract next season, as reserve big man Tony Bradley has a team option worth $2.9 million. Though far from a starter in the league, Bradley provided some solid minutes off the bench in the playoffs and would, presumably, have that option picked up to provide depth at center.
The free agent market at center wasn’t hugely enticing to begin with, and less than 24 hours into the negotiating period, it’s even thinner. The biggest name remaining is 2018 No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton.
Having spent the first five seasons of his career with the Phoenix Suns and contributing greatly to their 2021 NBA Finals run, Ayton was traded to the Trail Blazers in the same three-team deal that routed Lillard to Milwaukee. In two seasons, he’d been solid, yet unspectacular.
Ayton was bought out by Portland earlier this week, making him an unrestricted free agent. The same contract that was bought out (four years, $132 million) was actually signed by the Pacers when Ayton was a restricted free agent in Phoenix. The Suns matched the deal and brought him back before trading him a year later.
If Indiana still believes in Ayton, they very well could target him on a short-term deal, potentially a one-year guarantee with a team option for the second year.
Though not replacing the shooting or shot-blocking abilities of Turner, Ayton would be a solid option considering what’s left.
Regardless, the past two weeks have been unforgiving for the Pacers. It’s hard to give them a true grade, as there’s not much they could’ve done. It should be taken more as a reflection of the events out of their control, rather than any sort of decision that they made.
Pacers Grade: D
