Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony rips Bucks’ decision to waive Damian Lillard

The Milwaukee Bucks shocked the NBA landscape on Tuesday when they decided to waive superstar guard Damian Lillard. The decision was met with plenty of criticism, especially given the fact that Lillard will miss most, if not all of next season with an achilles injury. 

Among those critics is Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony. In a series of comments made on Instagram under a post announcing the Lillard decision, Anthony aired out his frustration with the move.

“SMH,” Anthony wrote. He then followed it up with another comment saying “BUSINESS PER USUAL!!!”

“NO LOYALTY IN SPORTS!!!,” he added once more.

Lillard tore his achilles during the first-round of the playoffs and will miss a considerable amount of time while he recovers. Lillard was one of three All-Stars to suffer an achilles tear in the playoffs, joining Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton. 

Anthony and Lillard shared the court as members of the Portland Trailblazers for two seasons from 2019-2021. Anthony averaged 14.3 points per game in that span with the Trailblazers.

The Bucks also parted ways with shooting guard Pat Connaughton on Tuesday, and signed center Myles Turner to a four-year, $107 million contract in the wake of waiving Lillard. 

The Bucks are still on the hook to pay Lillard approximately $22 million per year for the next five years, but waiving him effectively makes him a free agent. Lillard averaged 24.6 points per game in two seasons with Milwaukee and was named an All-Star in both seasons.