Bucks Become Major Trendsetters in NBA After Shocking Move

The Milwaukee Bucks made a bold move during the NBA offseason, and it might become the new standard for teams who want to compete for a title.

In the modern NBA, there are massive penalties for fielding an expensive team, both in terms of the tax bill and transactional flexibility.

This forces teams to get creative in managing the salary cap, especially when handing out and dealing with big-money contracts, which burden the team's finances.

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The Bucks used the stretch provision on Damian Lillard's massive two-year deal that was worth more than $100 million.

Since the star guard tore his Achilles, he wasn't going to impact the team in the upcoming season.

Out of desperation to deliver Giannis Antetokounmpo with a competitive team, the Bucks mortgaged future cap space by spreading out Lillard's deal over five years.

The Bucks created massive amounts of cap space with the move, giving them the ability to sign center Myles Turner to a four-year, $108 million deal.

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ESPN's Bobby Marks hailed the move from the Bucks in using all of their tools to improve the roster and setting off a wave of other players getting stretched as well.

"The provision to create financial flexibility by waiving and then stretching salary owed to a player is not a new rule in the CBA. Since 2013 and up to this past offseason, 54 players and a combined $320 million in salary have been waived and stretched," Marks wrote in a story on ESPN.

"Prior to Lillard, Nicolas Batum in Charlotte had the largest per-year cap hit of $8.9 million of a player stretched.

"But in the past month alone, $223 million in salary has been stretched, $100 million less than the total amount from 2013 to 2024.

"Teams are willing to absorb eight-figure cap charges in the foreseeable future for the sake of creating cap space now -- or in the case of the Phoenix Suns, escape financial purgatory."

Time will tell if the move pays off, but the Bucks wanted to show Antetokounmpo that they are still focused on winning now, even if it hurts down the line.

If the Greek Freak does end up leaving, the anchor of Lillard's lingering contract will look like a tragic mistake, though Milwaukee appears okay taking the risk.

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For more news and notes on the Milwaukee Bucks, visit Milwaukee Bucks on SI.