The Milwaukee Bucks have used the waive-and-stretch provision on Damian Lillard as the $113 million remaining on his contract will be spread out over the next five seasons. The Bucks decided to use this very expensive maneuver in order to sign Myles Turner to a four-year, $107 million deal following Lillard’s Achilles injury in the playoffs. Milwaukee reportedly approached Lillard with this concept in recent days.
The Bucks acquired Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers in September 2023 in a costly trade involving Jrue Holiday and multiple future picks. Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo struggled to truly maximize each other offensively the way the Bucks envisioned when they made the trade.
Lillard returned from deep vein thrombosis in his right calf for the playoffs.
Lillard will become an unrestricted free agent and choose his next team once he recovers from his Achilles injury with the possibility of being back for the 2026-27 season. According to Marc Spears, Lillard was considering not exercising his $58.5 million player option for the 2026-27 season as living in Milwaukee away from his family had been a challenge. Lillard will now get that money in full with it counting at $22.5 million on Milwaukee’s cap sheet at $22.5 million through the 2029-30 season.