Bucks waive Lillard, acquire Turner as NBA free agency kicks off with whirlwind of deals

Sports

A WHIRLWIND of transactions marked the start of the NBA free agency.

One of the busiest teams in the wheeling and dealing were the Milwaukee Bucks, who rocked the league by waiving nine-time All-Star Damian Lillard.

The 14-year veteran Lillard, one of the league’s elite scorers, became the surprise addition to the free agent market after being dumped by Milwaukee.

Lillard spent 11 seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers before being traded to Milwaukee prior to the start of the 2023-24 season.

With the move, Lillard can suit up with any team he prefers but he is expected to miss the 2025-26 season after tearing his Achilles tendon during the Bucks’ 2025 postseason run.

Lillard suffered the injury in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series with the Indiana Pacers.

Milwaukee decided to unload Lillard to make room for Indiana’s Myles Turner, who reportedly signed a four-year, $107-million deal with the Bucks.

Also busy were the Denver Nuggets, whose moves enabled them to land marquee players such as Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown, Jonas Valanciunas, and Tim Hardaway Jr.

The Sacramento Kings also signed Dennis Schroeder.

Other deals saw Nickel Alexander-Walker move to the Atlanta Hawks, Brook Lopez to the LA Clipeprs, Clint Capela to the Houston Rockets, Michael Porter Jr. to the Brooklyn Nets, D’Angelo Russell to the Dallas Mavericks, Jake LaRavia to the LA Lakers, Dorian Finney-Smith to the Rockets, Collin Sexton to the Charlotte Horntes, and Jusuf Nurkic to the Utah Jazz.(CCM)