The Milwaukee Bucks waived veteran Damian Lillard on Tuesday after reaching a four-year, $107 million contract agreement with center Myles Turner.
With two years and $113 million left on Lillard’s deal, the Bucks will opt to exercise a stretch provision to spread his remaining cap hit over the next five seasons — the largest waive and stretch in NBA history, Bobby Marks reports.
How does it all work?
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The NBA’s stretch provision allows teams to waive a player and spread the remaining cap hit over several future seasons, providing teams more salary cap flexibility following the player’s release.
The formula dictates that the remaining cap hits will be stretched over the number of years remaining on the deal, multiplied by two, plus one additional season.
So, since Lillard had two years remaining on his contract, his $113 cap hit will be spread over the next five seasons (2 years left x 2 + 1).
Additionally, the 2023 NBA-NBPA Collective Bargaining Agreement states:
In no event shall a Team be permitted to elect to stretch a waived player’s Salary if the portion of the Team’s Team Salary representing all of the Team’s waived players (and any other former players) in any future Salary Cap Year exceeds or as a result of the proposed stretch would exceed fifteen percent (15%) of the Salary Cap in effect during the Salary Cap Year in which the election occurs.
