It’s official—the Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard era is done and dusted. Blink and you missed it. But hey, can you really blame Milwaukee? Dame just hasn’t been that guy since his Blazers days. The Bucks clearly bet on old highlights, not current reality. Hindsight’s brutal like that. So now, they’ve gone full savage—waived and stretched the rest of his $113 million deal. Yup, while he’s still rehabbing.

Has a Top 75 player ever been cut like this? Not that we know of. But the real kicker? The why behind this move might just blow your mind.

They really aren’t messing about this off-season, are they? If this is how they’re choosing to lock down on Giannis, that’s a sign of doing things right. But the Greek himself wouldn’t want his locker room bestie axed like this, right? Well, if you see the real reason behind it all, it might start to make sense – even if Antetokounmpo has his eyes on Shams Charania’s socials.

“Damian Lillard’s two seasons in Milwaukee come to an end as he rehabilitates a torn Achilles tendon. The Bucks found a creative path to waive and stretch Lillard – whose $113M will be stretched over the next five seasons – while leaving their future draft assets untouched. In a stunning turn of events, Myles Turner departs the Pacers to join the Bucks,” said Shams.

This is as big as bombshells come. Seeing a player like Lillard get the axe? Brutal. It stings—no doubt about it. But let’s be honest: it was kind of coming. Watching a star of his stature face the music? Sad, yeah. But maybe, just maybe, it had to happen.

Long time coming or not, this move blindsided everyone—including Dame and Giannis themselves. Both stars reportedly weren’t in the loop, and their reactions made that crystal clear. It’s one thing for front offices to make cold calls, but when your two marquee names look just as shocked as the fans? That’s a recipe for serious locker-room tension. The Bucks may have saved cap space, but they might’ve lost trust in the process.

Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo blindsided by Milwaukee’s surprise

“He was surprised..[The Bucks] did not tell Dame that this was coming…I was told that Dame found out about his situation just like everybody else found out,” said Chris Haynes. Finding out your own job security going down the drain through social media is something even Jesus himself couldn’t script. This isn’t gonna sit well with the Milwaukee fans. And as it turns out, neither does it with Giannis.

Haynes isn’t one to sugarcoat it—Giannis is not happy the Bucks cut ties with Damian Lillard. Fans feel the same. Lillard still gets every cent of that $113 million, stretched over five years. But now? He needs a team. At 34 and fresh off an injury, he’s no quick fix. Most teams won’t bite on a vet who might not even suit up much next season. He’s a project now—long rehab, slow ramp-up, and big questions. Nobody’s rushing to be that gamble. And for a guy once known as the league’s most loyal star, this might be the coldest chapter yet.

But well, it’s only onwards and upwards. The only future for Lillard has to be to get himself fit and fine sitting on bucket load of cash coming his way. For Milwaukee though, it’s the start of a new era. And if we’re to go by the speculation, the Giannis Antetokounmpo-Myles Turner era could bear even more fruit.