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.
He needs to give $42m in salry also to Bucks. This is BS!
No, they knew the risk and waived him.
What? Why? The Bucks traded for Lillard, his contract comes with him. They chose to waive him.
Bucks made the bad choices not Lillard why should he do anything for them?
What bad choices? You make that trade ten out of ten times… expletive happens though.
No YOU make that trade 10 out of 10 times. I wouldn’t have risked it all for Lillard.
Awesome News! Next year they will have the right mix of youth and vets!
nba contracts are a damn joke. signs contract with blazers cries for trade. then wines 2 years in milwaukee like a baby and gets to resign with blazers. what a lil bit**
The Blazers wanted to trade Dame as well, it was mutual.
I’d complain too if I was stuck in Oregon and fkn Wisconsin.
Bucks made a bad trade and bad roster construction. These highly paid smart guys in front offices make the darndest moves that very many couch potatoes can see won’t work. But the brightest minds in the NBA world convince themselves that their ideas are the best.
The trade made sense at the time. They needed offensive creation, and Dame was one of the best in the league. They believed they had enough defense to make up for the loss of Jrue Holiday, relying on Lopez, Giannis, Middleton, and Crowder. Unfortunately Middleton and Crowder got injured so it didn’t work out.
Wrong. That trade never made any sense. It was a publicity driven move, not an on the court basketball move. Dame may he a nice highlight player to watch on ESPN, but he is not a winner. Like the original post said, many couch potatoes saw this coming. No 20/20 hindsight needed.
This is obviously hypothetical, but what if the Blazers signed him to rehab in Portland this year and then said we’ll try to get you where you want next year. That could benefit both sides, just talkin out my a$$ so chill
That could easily happen. It may be a longshot though. I’m really not sure how he would fit in with Scoot Henderson.
I thought this initially too but in that case why wouldn’t he sign 1-2 years at the mid level range to make himself more tradeble? The 3 year deal is a sign in my mind at least he will probably retire in Portland.
He literally lives in Portland. His children are there. He’s in the middle of a divorce. He loves the city of Portland. These are all reasons he might not be doing this as part of an elaborate plan to get traded somewhere else.