CHA/MIL/BRK - avoiding a Lillard stretch

HornetJail · Post #1 » by **HornetJail** » Tue Jul 1, 2025 4:28 pm

Assuming the Bucks didn't already do this of course...

Charlotte trades
Grant Williams: 2/29M
Josh Green: 2/29M
Vasa Micic 1/8M
Josh Okogie 1/8M
Tidjane Salaun 1/8M plus two years of Team Options
2026 1st (worst of MEM/ORL/PHX/WAS)
2026 2nd (worse of DEN/GSW)

Charlotte receives:
Damian Lillard
2031 1st MIL (top 10 prot until 2032, otherwise 2 2nds)

--

Milwaukee trades:
Damian Lillard: 2/112M
2031 1st MIL (top 10 prot until 2032, otherwise 2 2nds)

Milwaukee receives:
Josh Okogie (keep 1/8M)
Grant Williams (stretch 5 years at $6M/year)
Josh Green (stretch 5 years at $6M/year)
2032 BRK 2nd
2032 DEN 2nd
2026 2nd (worse of DEN/GSW)
--

Brooklyn trades:
2032 BRK 2nd
2032 DEN 2nd

Brooklyn receives
Vasa Micic 1/8M
Tidjane Salaun 1/8M
2026 1st (worst of 4 teams, should be early 20s)

--

The Lillard stretch is about the worst possible outcome I can imagine for the Bucks. This trade brings down the 5-year dead cap figure to $11.5M/year instead of $23M, creates a sizeable TPE, and adds a defensive role player.

Charlotte isn't looking to compete this season (again) and rents out cap flexibility for an injured Lillard and a pick, but opens roster spots, which Charlotte is running out of after adding 4 rookies. If Dame is up for playing here in 2026-27, he'd make a good running mate with LaMelo and Miller, and LaMelo can definitely learn a lot from him.

Brooklyn rents out their cap room for 1st in the early 20s next year. Also if they're looking to tank as hard as humanly possible, Salaun will help you do that. Micic may wind up taking a rather significant buyout to go back to Europe too.

GoBobs · Post #2 » by **GoBobs** » Tue Jul 1, 2025 5:06 pm

That is terrible for Charlotte. No way we would do that. Dame is owed like 110 million and probably never coming back from that injury at his age.

Post #3 » by **yosemiteben** » Tue Jul 1, 2025 5:45 pm

No **** way is Charlotte giving up all that value on the hope that 36 year old Damien Lillard plays well in his expiring contract year coming off an Achilles tear.

If Charlotte wants roster spots, just cut guys. Not hard to do and doesn't require giving up draft assets or prospects.

HornetJail · Post #4 » by **HornetJail** » Tue Jul 1, 2025 7:05 pm

yosemiteben wrote:No **** way is Charlotte giving up all that value on the hope that 36 year old Damien Lillard plays well in his expiring contract year coming off an Achilles tear.

If Charlotte wants roster spots, just cut guys. Not hard to do and doesn't require giving up draft assets or prospects.

you and I have very different ideas of "all that value"

If we dangled Green, Grant, and that late 2026 pick for cap space, I'm not sure we'd get a taker.

Post #5 » by **yosemiteben** » Tue Jul 1, 2025 7:32 pm

HornetJail wrote:
yosemiteben wrote:No **** way is Charlotte giving up all that value on the hope that 36 year old Damien Lillard plays well in his expiring contract year coming off an Achilles tear.

If Charlotte wants roster spots, just cut guys. Not hard to do and doesn't require giving up draft assets or prospects.

you and I have very different ideas of "all that value"

If we dangled Green, Grant, and that late 2026 pick for cap space, I'm not sure we'd get a taker.

Paying Dame $110M to recover from an Achilles tear at age 36 after sitting out next season seems like a worst possible use of assets