The Milwaukee Bucks stunned the NBA universe earlier this offseason, when the team officially called it quits on the Damian Lillard era after just two seasons and zero playoff series victories.
The 6-foot-2 Weber State alum, who turns 35 this month, tore his Achilles tendon during an eventual five-game first round playoff series loss to the Indiana Pacers, and is unlikely to return to the hardwood in 2025-26.
When he does come back, Lillard will be playing for a new team, as the Bucks decided to sign-and-waive the nine-time All-Star's remaining two seasons and $112.6 million.
Milwaukee will now be paying out the Lillard salary at a more affordable $22.5 million in dead cap money across the next five seasons. With their new cap space, the Bucks inked 3-and-D former Pacers center Myles Turner to a lucrative $108.9 million, four-season deal, to strengthen the club's front line next to nine-time All-NBA superstar power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. The deal also includes a fourth-year player option and a 15 percent trade kicker.
Update: Milwaukee Bucks signed Myles Turner to a 4-yr, $108.9M deal, sources told @hoopshype. That’s more than initially reported. Turner got a fourth-year player option and 15% trade kicker as ESPN first noted. Turner spent 10 seasons with the Pacers & was a 2-time blocks leader
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 8, 2025
On the latest episode of The Ringer's essential podcast "The Zach Lowe Show," host Zach Lowe and colleague Howard Beck unpacked the Turner deal.
Lowe, in particular, suggested that Milwaukee's move to bring in Turner will not be enough to move the needle and return the Bucks back to championship contention. Since winning it all in 2021, Milwaukee has only won a single playoff series.
New Zach Lowe Show! Today's Clips-Heat-Jazz trade, Beal rumblings, Lakers/Ayton, LeBron future, Knicks/Mike Brown, revisiting Dame/Myles Turner -- and much more -- w/ @HowardBeck:
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) July 8, 2025
Spotify: https://t.co/hL3aTbhLjX
YouTube: https://t.co/m4txwbPRGR
"Myles Turner just isn't this good. This isn't trading for Jrue Holiday," Lowe said. "It's not trading for Damian Lillard. Myles Turner's fine. He's a good fit with Giannis, he replicates the best of what Brook Lopez did in the prime of the Brook Lopez time, although he's not as good a rim protector as that version of Brook Lopez."
Lopez, a two-time All-Defensive Team center during his seven-year stint with the Bucks, inked a two-year, $18 million contract to serve as Ivica Zubac's backup on the L.A. Clippers this summer. The Stanford product was badly outplayed by Turner in the playoffs this spring.
"He's not the savior," Lowe continued. "Myles Turner isn't gonna turn this ship around. It's really just kicking the can and trying to appease Giannis for X more amount of months. I don't think it's going to work... Should they just trade Giannis?"
In response, Beck chuckled, before laying into the Bucks' probably doomed decision to build around Antetokounmpo with limited assets and now a decimated cap.
"Probably, and that was probably the answer before all of this happened, right?" Beck acknowledged. "They are kind of stuck... I have always said, and will continue to say, that when you have a player of LeBron James' caliber, or Steph Curry's caliber, or Giannis' caliber, or Nikola Jokic's caliber, you are obligated to them, to yourselves, to your fans, to the basketball gods, to be all-in at all times."