When Damian Lillard hit the floor of Sunday’s Game 4 between the Bucks and Pacers, it just didn’t have implications for Milwaukee’s season–or whatever is left of it.
Lillard collapsed in the first quarter while going for a rebound and was seen rubbing the back of his foot. The injury came after he returned from a month’s absence following blood clots in his right calf. On Monday, ESPN reported that Lillard tore his left Achilles. It will likely rule the 34-year-old out for all, if not most of next season.
The injury prompted even more questions about the team’s future.
The Bucks are headed for their third first-round exit in as many seasons, down 3-1 to the Pacers and haven’t gone past the second round since the team’s 2021 NBA championship. Whenever Lillard returns, he will be 35 or 36 and might not be the same player he was before. Even before Monday’s news, the team’s lack of postseason success has led many around the NBA to speculate if Giannis Antetokounmpo will ask for a trade out of the only city he’s ever played in.
Lillard’s injury doesn’t help the Bucks case to stay.
In 2022, a year before he was traded from the Trailblazers to the Bucks, Lillard signed a two-year, $122 million extension that has yet to kick in. He made $48.8 million this season and will make roughly $54 million next season, with a $58 million player option for the 2026-2027 season. For context, when Kevin Durant injured his Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals, he missed the entire following season, which was ultimately shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before finishing in the NBA bubble in Orlando.
Regardless, it leaves the Bucks without Antetokounmpo’s co-star and with few options to upgrade the roster around the 30-year-old star for the remainder of his prime. Rebuilding through the draft is out. The Nets own the Bucks’ pick this season while the Pelicans have swap rights in 2026 as part of the 2020 trade for Jrue Holiday. The Bucks’ first-round pick belongs to either the Hawks or Pelicans in 2027, the Wizards or Trailblazers in 2028 and 2029, and the Trailblazers have swap rights in 2030.
Free agency doesn’t look much better. The Bucks were fifth in salary this season with $183 million and have multiple free agents such as Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, Pat Connaughton, and Kevin Porter Jr., all of whom have been key contributors in recent seasons. But Lopez is 37, and none of them can replace Lillard’s production.
In 2023, Antetokounmpo agreed to a three-year, $186 million contract extension that’s nearly identical to Lillard’s and will pay $54 million and $58 million the next two seasons, respectively.
Winning in the NBA with two players on supermax contracts is already difficult. Doing so when one of them is out for the season is nothing short of miraculous. The Bucks and Antetokounmpo will likely have to decide whether it’s even worth trying.
