The Milwaukee Bucks stunned everyone in the NBA, including their superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, when they waived Damian Lillard on Tuesday morning in order to sign Myles Turner. They'll be on the books for more than $22 million for each of the next five seasons due to Lillard's two-year, $113 million deal still remaining.
Milwaukee wants to give Giannis Antetokounmpo the best possible chance to win, and with Damian Lillard out for likely the entire season due to a torn Achilles, it makes sense how they could reach this conclusion. But the numbers on the books for the next five seasons are rough.
That begs the question: Where will Damian Lillard end up? Lillard has to feel ecstatic that he'll still be getting the full value of his contract, can take his time fully recovering from his injury, and then he can sign with any team of his choosing without worrying about who will pay him the most. If he wants to join a championship contender, he could sit out the majority of the season, recover, and sign with someone right before the playoffs start, when he could be getting back into playoff shape.
Or, if he decides to sit out this year and recover, he can peruse the NBA and find someone next offseason to sign with. One option that could make sense, if he's willing to be a backup, is the Dallas Mavericks.
At a quick glance, you may wonder why. Dallas just signed Kyrie Irving to a three-year deal worth $119 million. If Lillard is going to miss this season, and Irving is already missing at least half of the season, why would they want two older guards coming off serious injuries?
Well, there are some old interesting Damian Lillard posts/quotes that are worth your attention. When the Mavericks first brought on Nico Harrison as general manager in 2021, agent Nate Jones defended the move on Twitter by highlighting how much players love him, everything he had done for Nike, his relationship with Kobe Bryant, etc. Lillard, an Adidas athlete, quote-tweeted that and said, "Facts."
BRACE YOURSELVES pic.twitter.com/DQo3lTyg4M
— All Things Mavs (@All_Things_Mavs) July 1, 2025
Also, when the Trail Blazers were searching for a new head coach in the 2021 offseason, Lillard directly told Yahoo! Sports that he wanted Jason Kidd, who was an assistant for the Lakers at the time. Kidd instead went to Dallas, and the Trail Blazers hired Chauncey Billups.
Lillard likely wants to start for whatever team he joins, and he won't ever be ahead of Kyrie Irving as a starter anymore. But if he wants to join a playoff contender as a backup this postseason as he gets back into playing shape, there's a world where he talks himself into the Mavericks.
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