Damian Lillard Waived by Milwaukee Bucks: Players and Fans React

The Milwaukee Bucks made a huge splash in the NBA and caused shock amongst fans after waiving nine-time NBA All-Star, Damian Lillard.

On Tuesday morning (July 1), NBA fans woke up to find out via ESPN Senior NBA Insider Shams Charania, that the Bucks had released Lillard, who had torn his Achilles in the first round of the NBA playoffs against the Indiana Pacers, and acquired Myles Turner. Lillard joined the Bucks in 2023 after asking for a trade from the Portland Trailblazers, and his time with the team was less than spectacular despite averaging 24.6 points and shooting 36.4% from the perimeter.

NBA reporter Chris Haynes said he spoke to Dame, who was reportedly stunned by the news. According to Haynes, the Bucks met with Dame but didn't inform him of the waiving; however, the 34-year-old is in a good place "mentally" as he'll be a free agent and able to go to a championship contender. In even better news for Dame, the Bucks will owe him over $22 million per year over the next five years.

"The Bucks did recently go out there to Portland to meet with Dame, but they did not tell Dame that this was coming. He had no clue about that, as well," Haynes said. "I was told that Dame found out about his situation just like everybody else found out. So you can read into that as you may, but at the end of the day, he's going to be a free agent for the first time ever in his career. He's going to have the opportunity to choose his own team."

Once news broke that Lillard had been waived, fans and fellow players shared their reactions on social media. Former Bucks teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo responded to the news with a tweet on X, captioning a photo of him celebrating the Bucks' 2021 NBA title, "I don't know what's going on right now, man."

Carmelo Anthony chimed in on ESPN's Instagram post of the news writing, "NO LOYALTY IN SPORTS!!! BUSINESS PER USUAL!! SMH."

Check out more reactions to the Bucks waiving Lillard below.