‘Sick to my stomach’: NBA rocked by $171m trade, why LeBron’s Lakers are doomed
As star players changed teams in a flurry of NBA free agency moves, LeBron James and the LA Lakers have emerged as the big losers.
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Giannis Antetokounmpo is not happy about the Milwaukee Bucks waiving Damian Lillard.
The superstar was “not pleased” with Milwaukee’s decision to waive Lillard in order to sign Myles Turner, NBA Insider Chris Haynes reported on Wednesday.
“He just didn’t like how it was handled,” Haynes added during a Tuesday appearance on NBA TV.
Earlier, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the Bucks would be waiving Lillard and stretching the remaining $113 million (A$171m) on his contract over the next five seasons in order to sign Turner, the longtime Pacer, to a four-year, $107 million (A$166m) deal.
Lillard, who had two years remaining on his deal, will now be paid A$34 million per season by the Bucks over the next four years.
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Antetokounmpo’s apparent frustration with the Bucks comes amid widespread speculation over his future with the franchise.
The 30-year-old, two-time MVP tweeted a photo of himself from his 2021 championship celebrations with the caption: “I don’t know what’s going on right now, man.”
Mood 💯 pic.twitter.com/Ar2nvAcfXE
— Giannis Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) July 1, 2025
A legitimately shocking day for the Milwaukee Bucks. Damian Lillard waived to open up space for Myles Turner. Crazy crazy crazy
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) July 1, 2025
On May 12, Charania reported that Antetokounmpo was “open-minded” about exploring whether his best long-term fit was in Milwaukee or somewhere else.
This week, Charania added: “It’s still wait and see. Giannis Antetokounmpo was open-minded about whether his best fit is in Milwaukee or elsewhere. I have not felt a shift from that mentality.”
It remains to be seen how the waiving of Lillard could impact Antetokounmpo’s future with the franchise.
ESPN insider Brian Windhorst torched the move given Indiana and Milwaukee are arch rivals in the Eastern Conference and the Pacers beat the Bucks in the playoffs the past two seasons.
“If I’m an Indiana Pacer right now, I’m absolutely disgusted, I am sick to my stomach,” Windhorst said.
“If I’m Tyrese Haliburton, I am breaking things right now. If I’m Rick Carlisle, I’m furious because they were unwilling to spend a little bit of luxury tax money to hold this team in place for a year until Haliburton came back.
“To go to a team that they hate...they hate the Bucks. It’s going to take a while to digest this.
“I’m not sure the balance of power has changed in the Eastern Conference even though this has been a stunning turn of events.”
Lillard is set to miss most, if not all, of the 2025-26 season with a torn Achilles injury he suffered in the Bucks’ first round playoff loss to the Pacers.
Milwaukee acquired Lillard from the Trail Blazers in a blockbuster, three-team trade with the Suns in September 2023, giving up Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, a 2029 first-rounder and first-round pick swaps in 2028 and 2030.
On paper, the superstar pairing of Lillard and Antetokounmpo was one of the best in the NBA, but the duo never yielded the results the Bucks had hoped.
After earning the third seed in 2024, the Bucks lost to the Pacers in the first round with both Lillard and Antetokounmpo battling through respective injuries.
A similar situation played out in 2025. Milwaukee captured the fifth seed and suffered its first-round loss to the Pacers after Lillard suffered his Achilles injury in Game 4.
Losers: Lakers, Celtics licking their wounds
The Boston Celtics face a tough year after Jrue Holiday was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers and Kristaps Porzingis to Atlanta, in a move to get some of their expensive contracts off Boston’s books.
Back-up centre Luke Kornet is also leaving Boston, headed to the San Antonio Spurs.
Celtics star Jayson Tatum is expected to miss all of the 2025-26 season with an Achilles injury.
The LA Lakers could be set for a tough season ahead with LA set to miss out on landing a much needed centre to add to their starting five.
ESPN reports LA have signed unheralded 23-year-old centre Jake LaRavia from the Sacramento Kings on a two year, $12 million deal (A$18 million).
Myles Turner, Clint Capela, Jonas Valanciunas, Mark Williams, Daniel Gafford, Kornet, Porzingis and Jakob Poetl have all been traded or re-signed, leaving the Lakers out in the cold.
Deandre Ayton and Nikola Vucevic loom as last resort centre options for the Lakers.
LeBron James opted into his $52.6 million contract with the Lakers — he will turn 41 years old during next season, LeBron’s 23rd in the league.
The Lakers were eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs and without a centre and defensive players on their squad, it places a heavy load on James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka hasn’t made a big move this offseason, stating he wants to save salary cap room to make a splash in the 2027 offseason, by which time James will be well into his 40s, if not retired.
There are rumours James could be lured away from the Lakers, possibly to his old team the Cleveland Cavaliers, if he wants to chase a fifth championship ring.
But time is running out for both James and the Lakers to make a move in a stacked Western Conference.
The Lakers landed Donic in a shock trade last season and the franchise has just been sold for a record $10 billion. But as it stands now, the Lakers are not championship contenders.
MVP signs monster max extension
Fresh off winning the championship, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to a four year, $285 million ($433 million) super maximum contract extension through the 2030-31 season.
Gilgeous-Alexander, 26, became the first player in a decade to win the regular season MVP and the championship in the same season.
Per ESPN’s Shams Chariana, the deal means Gilgeous-Alexander will receive the richest annual salary in NBA history.
Winners from NBA free agency
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets have emerged as one of the big winners of NBA free agency so far, with the 2023 champions adding several rotation players around three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
The Nuggets traded Michael Porter Jr to the Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson. Denver included their 2032 first round pick in the deal.
Denver also brought back 2023 championship player Bruce Brown and signed sharpshooter Tim Hardaway Jr on a one-year deal.
The Sacramento Kings traded Jonas Valanciunas to Denver, giving the Nuggets a back-up centre to play minutes when Jokic is on the bench.
Elseshere in the Western Conference, the Houston Rockets have bolstered their roster after shipping Jalen Green to the Phoenix Suns.
Clint Capela moved from Atlanta to strengthen Houston’s centre rotation behind Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams. Australia’s Jock Landale is now fourth in the big man pecking order at the Rockets, leaving his NBA future up in the air.
The Rockets also signed Kevin Durant in a blockbuster move aimed to give them a go-to scoring option at the end of games.
Houston also recruited defensive wing Dorian Finney-Smith from the Lakers, making the Rockets a contender in the Western Conference after they lost to Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs.
Originally published as ‘Sick to my stomach’: NBA rocked by $171m trade, why LeBron’s Lakers are doomed
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