The Bucks are pulling out all the stops in an effort to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo happy—though, with their roster limitations, that may be easier said than done.

Despite having limited cap flexibility entering the offseason, Milwaukee agreed to a four-year, $107 million contract with Myles Turner, the Pacers center fresh off a trip to the NBA Finals, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. 

In order to make room for Turner, the Bucks are waiving nine-time All-Star Damian Lillard, who had two years, $112.6 million remaining on his deal, but was expected to miss most or all of next season with a torn Achilles tendon.

The Bucks are using the stretch provision on Lillard, meaning they will pay out his contract over five years. Lillard’s deal will take up about $22.5 million of the Bucks’ cap space until the 2029–30 season. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, it’s the largest use of the stretch provision in league history.

In May, ESPN reported that Antetokounmpo was “open-minded” about leaving the Bucks weeks after the team was eliminated by the Pacers in the first round of the NBA playoffs. It was the third year in a row that Milwaukee was unable to advance past the first round of the playoffs.

Milwaukee appeared to be tearing down its core that won the 2021 championship after trading Jrue Holiday to the Celtics in 2023, Khris Middleton to the Wizards in February, and allowing Brook Lopez to sign with the Clippers on Monday. All three players were on the wrong side of 30. 

The decision to sign the 29-year-old Turner and waive Lillard appears to be a last-ditch effort by the Bucks to build a contender around Antetokounmpo. Ironically, the Bucks traded for Damian Lillard two years ago in an attempt to retool around the Greek star, but injuries to Lillard and Middleton limited their ceiling.

According to NBA insider Chris Haynes, Antetokounmpo is “not pleased” with the Bucks’ decision to waive Lillard. However, Charania reported that Turner and Antetokounmpo “valued the opportunity to partner together.”

Haliburton’s Injury Lingers

These moves are a trickle-down effect of Tyrese Haliburton’s unfortunate Achilles tear in Game 7 of the NBA Finals just two weeks ago.

The Pacers were reportedly prepared to re-sign Turner and go into the luxury tax for the first time in two decades. However, according to Charania, Indiana’s “aversion to the luxury tax” grew after Haliburton’s Achilles tear, which, like Lillard’s, may keep him out for the entire 2025–26 season.

Turner reportedly wanted to stay in Indiana, but according to NBA insider Jake Fischer, Indiana’s offers didn’t exceed the range of three years, $60 million. That would be an average salary of $20 million, which is $6.75 million less than what he will receive in Milwaukee.

The Browns are officially getting $600 million in state money toward a planned domed stadium and mixed-use development in suburban Brook Park, Ohio. The fallout from that budget decision, however, is still unfolding. 

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law late Monday a state budget that includes a $600 million “performance grant” for the Browns. Those funds, approved last week by the Ohio legislature, will be paid out from an account of unclaimed state funds, such as utility deposits, uncashed cashier’s checks, and forgotten bank accounts, and repaid through future tax revenues. 

DeWine said he opposed that structure, but nonetheless, did not exercise line-item veto power to quash it. 

“That was not my first choice. I had another way of doing it,” DeWine said Tuesday morning, of helping fund the Browns’ stadium. “But governors don’t get everything they want. … My criteria was that it would not spend money out of the general fund and it would not directly compete with education, directly compete with mental health. Stadiums should not compete with mental health, should not compete with education. So this budget, while it doesn’t do it the way I originally designed it … meets those criteria.

“This is a win for taxpayers, and it will provide significant money for things that improve the quality of life in Ohio,” he said. 

A group of former Democratic lawmakers in Ohio, meanwhile, intends to file a class-action lawsuit, calling the use of those unclaimed funds unconstitutional. 

Local Disagreement

The budget signing also codified a change to Ohio’s Modell Law, designed to help prevent pro teams in the state from moving, that will only trigger those protections should a franchise look to relocate out of state. That shift essentially moots an ongoing lawsuit between the Browns and the city of Cleveland. 

More broadly, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb blasted the budget approval and what the Browns’ move to the suburbs will do to the city.

“Relocating the Browns will divert economic activity from downtown, create a competing entertainment district, and disrupt the momentum of our lakefront redevelopment,” Bibb said. “It will also trigger substantial taxpayer-funded infrastructure upgrades—including highway reconfigurations and public safety enhancements—adding significant public costs on top of the stadium itself.”

Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, for their part, cheered the DeWine signing and touted the ambition in their $2.4 billion stadium and development plan. A groundbreaking is now set for early next year, in advance of a planned opening in 2029.  

“The new, enclosed Huntington Bank Field will be completely fan-centric, a first-of-its-kind design in the NFL, and a dynamic venue that draws visitors from across Ohio and beyond, for concerts and significant sporting events throughout the year,” the pair said in a statement.

One of baseball’s biggest unofficial holidays—Bobby Bonilla Day—has arrived again, and the 62-year-old former MLB star remains bemused by the attention his salary deferrals still receive and the significant influence they have on current player deals. 

As has been the case since 2011, Bonilla today will receive a $1.19 million annual payment from the Mets, a continuation of a deferral structure created in 2000, and lasting until 2035. Overall, the Mets deal, thanks to the deferrals and compounded interest, has turned an initial $5.9 million contract obligation to Bonilla into nearly $30 million for the six-time All-Star.

“It doesn’t suck. It doesn’t suck. … I just wanted to be able to spend as if I was an active player in retirement,” Bonilla said in a short film, The Big Deal, produced by the newly created Front Office Sports Studios. “People are fascinated by [the contract]. It’s a pretty cool thing. It’s probably bigger than my birthday. … I’d love for this to be an inspiration for people. That guaranteed income is everything.”

To that end, Bonilla is far from alone in former MLB stars getting deferral checks today. Among them:

• Manny Ramirez will receive $2 million from the Red Sox as part of a 16-year, $32 million deferral pact running through 2026. 
• Bret Saberhagen will receive $250,000 annually from the Mets in his deal running from 2004–28, with that pact helping inspire Bonilla’s agreement. 
• Chris Davis will receive $9.16 million from the Orioles as part of $59 million in total deferrals running until 2037. 
• Bonilla himself also has a second, separate deferral from the Orioles, worth $500,000 annually until 2028, with his agent, Dennis Gilbert, playing a key role in both agreements. 

“It’s a beautiful day!” Bonilla said of the day bearing his name. 

Some of these deferral payments are well in excess of the 2025 salaries of current MLB stars such as the Reds’ Elly De La Cruz ($770,000), Pirates’ Paul Skenes ($875,000), and Yankees’ Anthony Volpe ($879,000).

Modern-Day Moves

Extended deferrals, such as what Bonilla helped popularize, are also a fixture of current MLB contracts. The Dodgers, MLB’s top-spending club, by themselves have more than $1 billion in total deferral commitments. Superstar Shohei Ohtani, who in late 2023 deferred $680 million of his $700 million contract until 2034–43, is particularly notable here—not only because of the size of the future payments, but the fact he agreed to it in the prime of his career, as opposed to later on, as many such as Bonilla did. 

The Dodgers’ offseason activity to prepare for the 2025 season included $135 million worth of deferrals for free-agent acquisitions Blake Snell, Tanner Scott, Tommy Edman, and a contract extension for Teoscar Hernández. 

Soon after those signings, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred reiterated that the Dodgers are compliant with the collective bargaining agreement, but added, “We listen to our fans on topics like this, and I have heard people on this. Believe me, I get a lot of emails about it.”