We’re only two days into free agency, and the landscape of the NBA has already been altered. Buckle up!

Today’s Lineup

🎉 Happy birthday to Marquese Chriss, Isaiah Joe, and Derrick White! 🎉

Free Agency Frenzy

Bucks waive and stretch Damian Lillard, sign Myles Turner to 4yr, $107M deal

Talk about unexpected! The Bucks waived Damian Lillard yesterday and will stretch the remaining money on his contract—a whopping $113 million—over the next five seasons, giving way for the nine-time All-Star to find a new team while he recovers from his Achilles tear.

The cost-saving decision was made so that Milwaukee could sign two-time NBA blocks leader Myles Turner away from Indiana to a four-year, $107 million deal. Turner, who started in all 23 of the Pacers’ playoff games this postseason and averaged 13.8 PTS, 4.8 REB, and 2.0 BLK per contest, was drafted to Indiana in 2015 and had played there since.

Cutting Lillard, whom Portland traded to Milwaukee in 2023, was a heart-wrenching decision to be sure. And it wasn’t the only move the Bucks made that angered the Milwaukee faithful, as fan-favorite Pat Connaughton found himself headed to Charlotte in another cost-saving move. While Giannis is reportedly “not happy” about the franchise’s decision to cut ties with Dame, we’re excited to see him and Turner wreak havoc on Eastern Conference big men next season.

SGA, JJJ highlight big-time contract extensions

When you’re an MVP and an NBA champion in the same year, you deserve a contract extension. It’s just that no one has ever gotten a contract like SGA just did.

Shai and the Thunder agreed on a four-year, $285 million supermax contract yesterday, earning the Canadian superstar an average of $71+ million per year. That’s almost a million per game, and while we think SGA deserves all the money OKC can give him, we will admit that the sheer volume of the contract makes us a little queasy. 😳

Also in the Western Conference, the Grizzlies committed $240 million to Jaren Jackson Jr. over the next five years, ensuring JJJ will be there in the future next to Ja Morant in an increasingly competitive Western Conference. We said in the future, though, because the team announced last night that Jackson had sustained a turf toe injury that will require a procedure to repair.

There’s a chance JJJ is out for upwards of six months, so Memphis fans, we’re sorry. At least the Grizz re-signed Santi Aldama to a three-year, $50M+ deal and brought Ty Jerome to town!

Houston extends key pieces, adds to KD-led roster with DFS, Clint Capela

Just a week after acquiring Kevin Durant, Houston is making moves around the edges to further increase their chances of stealing the Western Conference throne from those kids in Oklahoma.

The Rockets extended veterans Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams, both of whom were integral parts of Houston’s top-two finish in the West last year, on multi-year contracts. They also signed veteran wing Dorian Finney-Smith to a four-year deal and brought Clint Capela back into the fold on a three-year contract after trading him to Atlanta in 2020 as part of a four-team, 12-player mega-trade—remember this?

Bench pieces like Jeff Green, Aaron Holiday and Jae’Sean Tate are also set to be back in Houston next year, proving the Rockets know that their window is now with KD on the team.

Quick Hits ⬇️

• Nickeil Alexander-Walker → Atlanta: 4yr, $62M

• Duncan Robinson → Detroit: 3yr, $48M

• Dennis Schroder → Sacramento: 3yr, $45M

• Luke Kornet → San Antonio: 4yr, $41M

• Caris LeVert → Detroit: 2yr, $29M

• Tre Jones → Chicago: 3yr, $24M

• Brook Lopez → Los Angeles (C): 2yr, $18M

• Kevon Looney → New Orleans: 2yr, $16M

• D’Angelo Russell → Dallas: 2yr, $13M

• Jake LaRavia → Los Angeles (L): 2yr, $12M

• Guerschon Yabusele → New York: 2yr, $12M

• Tyus Jones → Orlando: 1yr, $7M

Trade Season

Denver moves on from MPJ, acquires Cam Johnson from Nets

Denver receives: Cam Johnson

Brooklyn receives: Michael Porter Jr., unprotected 2032 first-round pick

The MPJ era in Denver is officially over after seven years.

Injury struggles clouded the early part of Porter’s career in Denver, where he was drafted as a highly talented recruit after being one of the most exciting players in his high school class. Now, the Mizzou product and his $38M+ contract are on their way to the Big Apple to help the Nets figure out their new identity after an eventful (to say the least) draft night.

For the Nuggets, adding the 29-year-old Johnson bolsters their capacity to shoot teams out of games, which can be an absolute dealbreaker in the playoff scenarios they’ve found themselves in over the past few postseason. He averaged 18.8 PTS per game for the Nets last season on 47.5%/39.0%/89.3% efficiency.

It’ll be the third stop of Johnson’s career after he was traded from Phoenix to Brooklyn as a part of the 2023 Kevin Durant trade. Funny how it all comes back…

Nuggets, Kings swap European big men

Denver receives: Jonas Valanciunas

Sacramento receives: Dario Saric

Another trade from Denver! After signing with the Nuggets last July, the veteran big man Saric is headed to SacTown to back up Domantas Sabonis. In return, Denver receives Valanciunas, whose offensive game is a tad more polished than Dario‘s.

The Lithuanian big man’s blend of offense and defense should help the Nuggets recapture their 2023 championship magic. At 6’11” and 264 lbs, Valanciunas is a career 34% three-point shooter and provides strength and versatility as a backup 5-man.

Three in the Key

Signing Off

It’s been a chaotic couple of days in the NBA world, but you can count on us to stay in the know while you bask in the summer sun.

See you on Friday! Who knows what will have taken place by then… 👀

Austin Zeglis