How does Damian Lillard's contract with the Trail Blazers affect Bucks' salary cap?
The reaction Milwaukee Bucks fans had to Damian Lillard’s agreeing to a new contract on July 18 was probably, “Wait … he’s going back to Portland?” And then it was probably, “Wait … now the Trail Blazers have both Dame and Jrue Holiday?”
The next stage was likely, “Do the Bucks get any cap relief now?”
The answer to that is complicated with the NBA’s intricate financial rules.
Damian Lillard’s remaining $113 million was stretched by Bucks over five years
When the Bucks waived Lillard for cap space to help sign free-agent center Myles Turner, Milwaukee stretched the remaining $113 million in salary owed to Lillard over five years.
That means there will be a cap hit of $22.5 million of dead money through 2030.
Lillard’s deal is the largest-ever contract to be stretched in NBA history.
How much do the Bucks save with Lillard signing with the Trail Blazers?
The answer is some … but the savings don’t really help all that much for the Bucks.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Lillard has agreed to a three-year $42 million deal with Portland. The figures could change before the contract is officially signed (The Athletic is reporting Lillard’s deal is worth $45 million), but how that affects the Bucks is negligible.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks, a former NBA front-office executive, outlined on social media, the signing triggers a “set-off” for the Bucks because the amount of the new contract is greater than $2 million in the first two seasons.
Marks then outlined the “set-off” formula:
For next season in 2025-26: Lillard’s salary in Portland ($14.1 million) minus $2 million (one-year veteran’s minimum) is then divided by half to equal $6.05 million.
Then in 2026-27: Lillard’s salary in Portland ($13.4 million) minus $2.2 million (a slightly increased one-year veteran’s minimum for the season) is then divided by half to equal $5.6 million.
Those are the only two set-offs because Lillard had two years remaining on his deal with the Bucks.
Then the combined set-off numbers ($6.05 million plus $5.6 million, totaling $11.65 million) are divided by the amount of years that Milwaukee is stretching across the cap (five). That equals $2.3 million.
So you subtract $2.3 million from the stretched amount ($22.5) over the next two seasons. The revised stretch provision is now $20.2 million.
Big key is this applies after the season
As Marks and other astute Bucks cap-ologists noted, the “set-off” only is applied after the season.
It doesn’t help with any in-season or summer deals.
The biggest way it would help is if the Bucks ended up $2.3 million or less over the cap. Then after the “set-off” is applied, Milwaukee would be under the cap.
Also of note, Lillard is set to make $141 million over the next two seasons with his combined Bucks and Trail Blazers salaries. That includes $70 million next season as he rehabs his Achilles injury.
It doesn't take any complicated formulas to understand that is a lot of money.
(This story was republished to add an additional photo gallery.)