Myles Turner is about to become teammates with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Damian Lillard now has the chance to pick his next spot.
And just like that, the first full day of NBA free agency brought big surprises Tuesday.
Turner — the longtime stalwart for the Indiana Pacers — agreed to a four-year deal to join the Milwaukee Bucks, who waived the nine-time All-Star in Lillard to make the acquisition happen, a person with knowledge of the moves told The Associated Press.
Turner is agreeing to a deal that ends with a player option, after spending the entirety of his first 10 seasons with the Pacers, who went to the NBA Finals this past season. And the remaining $112.6 million owed to Lillard will be paid out over the next five seasons via the NBA's stretch provision, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because neither move was announced by the clubs involved.
ESPN, which first reported the plan by the Pacers and Bucks, said Turner agreed to a contract worth $107 million.
In both cases, Achilles tendon injuries played a role in how things unfolded.
Indiana expects to be without star guard Tyrese Haliburton for the entirety of the coming season because he ruptured his Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder while playing through what was diagnosed as a calf strain. Earlier, Lillard ruptured his Achilles tendon while playing for Milwaukee in Round 1 against Indiana.
Lillard is likely to miss most, if not all, of the coming season. He will be free to sign with anyone he chooses, and teams could simply sign him now, give him a chance to continue his recovery and do so with hope that the seven-time All-NBA selection is fully ready to go by the start of the 2026-27 season.
“This is an opportunity for Damian to stay home to continue his rehabilitation, take time to decide where he wants to play next, while still being paid his entire contract,” said Lillard's agent, Aaron Goodwin.
Turner has averaged 14.1 points and 6.8 rebounds in his 10 seasons with the Pacers, who had to make a decision this summer about whether to surpass the luxury tax threshold knowing that Haliburton likely cannot play this coming season.
Lillard, who turns 35 this month, has averaged 25.1 points and 6.7 assists in 900 regular-season games over 13 seasons — the first 11 with Portland, the last two with Milwaukee.
The Bucks lost Brook Lopez to the Los Angeles Clippers when free agency opened Monday.
SGA gets extension
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed on a record-setting 4-year, $285 million extension that would give him the highest single-season average salary in NBA history, a person with knowledge of the agreement said Tuesday.
He is coming off a year when he became the fourth player in NBA history to win MVP, Finals MVP and a scoring title and play for a champion in the same season. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it once, Michael Jordan then did it four times and Shaquille O’Neal was the last entrant into that fraternity — until this past season, when Gilgeous-Alexander joined the club.
Schröder to Kings
Veteran point guard and German Olympic teamer Dennis Schröder has agreed to join the Sacramento Kings on a three-year deal, the third of which is not fully guaranteed, a person with knowledge of that agreement said Tuesday. ESPN reported the total value of the deal is $45 million.
Schröder, who is entering his 13th NBA season, is joining his 10th club — and ninth in the last seven years. He spent the first five seasons of his career with Atlanta, then was with Oklahoma City, the Los Angeles Lakers (twice), Boston, Houston, Toronto, Brooklyn, Golden State and Detroit at various times over the last seven seasons.
He has averaged 13.9 points and 4.9 assists in 849 regular-season games.
Hardaway Jr. joining Nuggets
Sharpshooting wing Tim Hardaway Jr. will be signing a one-year contract with the Denver Nuggets, a person familiar with the player's plans said Tuesday.
Hardaway Jr. spent last season with Detroit — he averaged 11 points in 77 games as a starter for the Pistons — and Denver becomes his fifth club. He also has been with Dallas, New York and Atlanta.
Poeltl remains with Raptors
Center Jakob Poeltl gets a raise and some job security in a contract extension that keeps him with the Toronto Raptors, a person familiar with that agreement confirmed Tuesday. Poeltl will be finalizing a four-year deal worth about $26 million per year, or about $7 million more on average than what he was in line to make this coming season.
Poeltl — a career 63% shooter — is coming off a season in which he averaged career bests of 14.5 points and 9.6 rebounds.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
