The Bucks will receive a salary cap benefit as a result of Damian Lillard‘s new three-year contract with the Trail Blazers, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN and Sports Business Classroom (Twitter link).
Milwaukee waived Lillard earlier this month and used the stretch provision to spread the $112.6MM he was owed on his previous contract over the next five years, resulting in annual cap hits of about $22.5MM.
As Marks explains, since Lillard’s salary with Portland exceeds the one-year veteran’s minimum salary ($2,048,494) for each of the next two seasons, the Bucks will receive a set-off amount of approximately $11.65MM. The formula for determining the exact amount involves taking Lillard’s new salary with the Blazers, subtracting the one-year vet minimum, and dividing that amount in half.
The set-off, which will be applied after the 2025/26 regular season, will reduce Milwaukee’s annual dead-money cap hits from $22.5MM to $20.2MM through ’29/30.
While $2.3MM annual savings might not seem like much, every little bit of financial flexibility could be helpful for the Bucks as they try to retool around Giannis Antetokounmpo. The reduction of Lillard’s dead money may also help the team waive-and-stretch another contract down the road without exceeding the maximum allowable 15% of the cap.
Before word broke this evening of Lillard’s agreement with the Blazers, Marks predicted on ESPN’s NBA Today that the seven-time All-NBA guard would reunite with Portland (Twitter video link).
While the Bucks are benefiting a little financially as a result of Lillard signing a new contract, it’s worth noting that the same won’t be true of the Suns with Bradley Beal, since the right to set-off is typically forfeited as part of a buyout agreement — Milwaukee simply waived Lillard rather than buying him out.
Luke Adams contributed to this story.