The new NBA calendar is fully underway after Night 1 of free agency.
Expectedly, a lot has happened that will change how we view teams as they head into the 2025-26 season.
Naturally, there are a lot of things to sort through reagarding teams, players and contracts. Some thoughts are still brewing, some are pretty straightforward, and some might be overly optimistic and/or pessimistic.
(And in the case of the Bucks, who just shocked the NBA world, all of those thoughts are probably there at the same time.)
Let’s get into it.
The Bucks go big!
The Bucks did return four of their guys in Bobby Portis (three years, $44 million), Gary Trent Jr. (two years, $7.5 million), Kevin Porter Jr (two years, $11 million) and Taurean Prince (two years, $7.1 million), but they also lost longtime center Brook Lopez to the Los Angeles Clippers.
No matter, apparently, as they somehow swung a deal for Myles Turner, one of the league’s best 3&D big men.
Turner (four years, $107 million) gives the Bucks new life, and he may have ended any speculation about Giannis Antetokounmpo’s satisfaction in Milwaukee because Turner represents a significant upgrade.
This is a wonderful get for the Bucks, who looked as if they were dead in the water late Monday night.
Now, the Bucks paid a huge price here, as the way they found the available money was by waiving and stretching the contract of Damian Lillard.
Lillard’s contract, with $113 million remaining, will be spread out over the next five seasons, which is a significant amount of dead salary to carry.
This is truly a move made for the present, with very little concern given to the future. At the very least, this took enormous guts by the Bucks’ front office.
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