The Milwaukee Bucks waived Damian Lillard just days into the offseason, shocking many in the NBA community. The nine-time All-Star guard, who has been recovering from an Achilles injury, will now have to hunt for a new team. The upside for him is that he can take his time to recuperate from his injuries since the Bucks will have to honor the $113 million contract stretched across five years.
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Lillard joined the Bucks in 2023, when, in all honesty, he didn’t want to. It was common knowledge at the time that ‘Dame Time’ was looking to leave Portland to play for a bigger market team. But when he realized that Milwaukee was going to be his new home, he accepted the situation and behaved as a professional would.
The out-of-the-blue waiving, however, was not just a surprise, but also a bad look for the Bucks, according to Stacey King. The former Chicago Bulls star called the Bucks out in a recent episode of the Gimme the Hot Sauce podcast.
King, who lauded Lillard’s performances in a Bucks uniform, warned the team that, in the future, free agents may not want to join them. He explained how Lillard continued to work through rehab and focused on the next season before the Bucks blindsided him.
“And now he’s rehabbing, [and] has surgery. He’s thinking about next year. When can I come back? He’s got his mindset. He’s working to come back,” the Chicago Bulls legend said. “All of a sudden [Dame] gets a text or reads it on Shams [that] he’s been cut, let go, and everybody in the league is like shocked. Yeah. All the players were shocked.”
The Bulls’ play-by-play analyst warned that the Bucks may have seriously damaged their reputation across the league. He reiterated that players will remember how the team dumped Lillard without warning.
“When you’re a player and you’re Milwaukee and you’re thinking about trying to bring free agents, [players are] going to look at you like, ‘Man, hell no! We saw what you did to Dame Lillard. What are you going to do to me?’ Dame Lillard is an established player,” said King.
“[The Bucks] just cut him, and he was hurt. It wasn’t like his production slipped from averaging 20-something points a game to eight, and you said his production is down. He [was] always injured. No, you cut him when he was hurt,” he added.
King’s criticism hits harder because of his resume. Bulls fans still revere him for helping the franchise win three NBA championships over eight seasons. When he speaks on how players perceive front-office decisions, people pay attention.
Lillard’s ousting sends a message that could haunt Milwaukee’s future roster-building efforts. Small-market franchises already struggle to attract star talent. Moving on from a respected veteran like Lillard so abruptly raises the risk that future free agency periods in Milwaukee could become even more challenging.
