Myles Turner had a lot of teams coveting him heading into free agency — athletic stretch fives who can get you a couple of blocks a game protecting the rim are hard to come by. However, none of those teams had the means to sign Turner, and everyone assumed the Pacers would finally pony up and go into the tax to keep Turner alongside Tyrese Haliburton.
Indiana was not willing to pay. Then, in a cold and bold move, the Milwaukee Bucks stepped up and waived-and-stretched the $112.6 million still owed Damian Lillard — out most or all of next season with a torn Achilles — and used that money to sign Turner to a four-year, $104 million contract.
It's one of the wildest, most unexpected moves we've seen in the NBA since… Paul George and Kawhi Leonard to the Clippers (and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to the Thunder)?
Who are the winners and losers from Tuesday's wild action? Let's break it down.
WINNER: Milwaukee Bucks (short term)
Every time over the years that Giannis Antetokounmpo has subtly tried to pressure the Bucks to upgrade their roster, hinting he might leave, they have responded. That's how the Bucks ended with Damian Lillard. However, nobody thought they could pull that off again this summer, the Bucks had already traded away most of their future draft picks, and the roster was not deep with trade assets (there isn't a big Kyle Kuzma market).
Tuesday, Milwaukee shocked the league by waiving Lillard to create space to sign Turner. Combine that with them bringing back many of their core players, and this is a team that can be a threat in the East. How does Antetokounmpo feel about that?
Here is Milwaukee's rotation:
• Kevin Porter and Gary Trent Jr. are the likely starting guards, with AJ Green behind them. The Bucks could use one more ball-handling, shot-creating guard if they are going to beat the Cavaliers and Knicks in the playoffs (they have a first-round pick and Kuzma to trade), but this is a good start.
• Kyle Kuzma starts at the three with Taurean Prince behind him.
• Giannis Antetokounmpo — Milwaukee needs MVP-level Antetokounmpo. There are good role players around him, but this is a roster he is going to have to carry in the clutch.
• Myles Turner — an absolute upgrade over Brook Lopez at this point in their respective careers — and Bobby Portis at center. Turner is basically a younger Lopez in terms of style of play. Some fans have questioned how much of an upgrade Turner is over Lopez, but recall when the Pacers and Bucks faced off in the first round of the playoffs, and Turner outplayed Lopez — to the point that Doc Rivers had to pivot and start Bobby Portis. This is an upgrade for Milwaukee.
Any team with Antetokounmpo has to be considered a playoff threat in the East, but there may be enough around him now to get back to the Finals, if things break their way. This is a good set of role players, whether they are good enough to get where the Bucks want to go is a fair question, but this is a team in the mix.
LOSER: Milwaukee Bucks (long term)
The largest waived-and-stretched contract in NBA history before Tuesday was $31 million — waving Lillard is more than triple that number. Every year for the next five seasons, the Bucks will have $22.5 million in dead money on the books — an anchor on their plans.
The Milwaukee Bucks do not control their own first-round draft pick until 2031.
Eventually, the wheels are going to fall off this bus in Milwaukee, and when they do — when Antetokounmpo eventually leaves the franchise (via retirement or to another team) — things are going to get ugly. Milwaukee is like someone just racking up loads and loads of credit card debt. That bill is going to come due, and it will take a long time to pay off. But if Antetokounmpo stays and the team gets back to the Finals, was it worth it?
WINNER: Myles Turner
Turner is a bittersweet winner. He spent 10 years in Indiana — it's the only NBA team he ever played for — and was just part of the greatest run in the franchise's NBA history, all the way to Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Turner wanted to get paid comparable to other bigs in his range. Pacers' ownership did not want to go into the luxury tax to do it. That's when Turner's representatives got creative and found a team that did — Turner will average more than $25 million a year over the course of the next four years. That's about the going rate for a center of his caliber. It's a good deal.
And Turner jumps to another team with Finals aspirations next season — he will be competing for something.
WINNER: Damian Lillard
Damian Lillard was unhappy in Milwaukee, especially during his first year, when he was away from his family and not winning as much as he had hoped. Now? He couldn't be happier with this outcome. Check out this paragraph from The Athletic:
League sources say Lillard is elated with this decision, as it puts him in the kind of basketball-first position that few All-Star-level players, if any, have experienced in league history. In short, he'll be able to join the contending team of his choosing, either sometime soon or perhaps next summer, without the financial aspect of the decision playing a significant part.
Expect Lillard to take his time making a decision. The two teams that come up first in conversations with people around the league are Miami and Portland, but many other teams could be in play. He's not going to rush this process.
LOSER: Indiana Pacers fans
I feel for Pacers fans. I wish I could buy them all a beer.
What stings is that Turner wanted to stay, but the Pacers' ownership hesitated to go into the luxury tax. That hesitation opened the door to Turner's suitors — including Milwaukee — who were able to get their foot in the door. And here we are, with Turner gone and Tyrese Haliburton likely out all of next season with a torn Achilles.
The positives? One, Haliburton will be back, and while this season now looks like someone will hit the pause button, in two years this team can (and should) be right back in the mix in the East.
Second — this was a brilliant playoff run. Savor it. There are not enough magical moments like this for fans where — championship or not — everything comes together on the court, the team reflects and inspires the community (and the state of Indiana) around it. It's just pure, fun basketball. These Pacers were a combination of high-level basketball and entertaining in a way we all too rarely see. Don't let how it ended spoil that.
