Bucks GM Reveals Why He Made Shocking Damian Lillard, Myles Turner Moves

The Milwaukee Bucks have made the most surprising move of the offseason so far by signing Myles Turner. They gave him a four-year deal worth $108.9 million.

In order to make room for him, the Bucks used the waive-and-stretch provision to get rid of Damian Lillard. Now they will have $22.5 million in dead cap each year for the next five seasons.

It's a move that has been very polarizing across the NBA. Jon Horst still felt like it was a move that gave the team the best chance to win a title.

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Horst revealed why he made this bold move, and he essentially said it was to make Giannis Antetokounmpo happy.

“Maximizing Giannis’ prime, our opportunities to win, I feel like that’s our responsibility always. So it was really a now versus future decision.”

“I think every decision, every move that you make, has risk and reward, so there’s nothing unique about that in this case. We looked at the opportunity to acquire a highly productive, elite free agent, who is in the prime of his career, and who is an incredible fit next to Giannis, as an opportunity for these next two seasons in particular, instead of what would have been Dame on our books at a full salary, as really opportunistic, more than anything.”

It's clear that the Bucks are trying to win now in response to the pressure that Antetokounmpo has put on the organization. Milwaukee is going to try everything possible to keep him happy.

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In order for this move to work, the Bucks have to win the title in the next two or three years. Having that much dead cap could really hamper their ability to sign some free agents.

Turner comes in with a lot of pressure on his shoulders after just making a run to the NBA Finals. He has never played anywhere in his career but Indiana, so this is going to be a major shift for him.

This past season with the Pacers, Turner averaged 15.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. Lillard averaged 24.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 7.1 assists with the Bucks.

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