Bucks News, Transactions, Trade Ideas

[pifhluk23]

Poole is a terrible fit with Giannis and who knows what Smart has left.

That said I'd do the trade because they are both on very tradeable contracts and I believe we could deal them at the deadline if we acquire them this Summer.

If Pat opts in and we keep him until the deadline, him plus Smart would be 32M in expiring contracts, could easily get something decent back for that. Poole would have 1.5 years.

These are the gap year type moves we need to make.

[raferfenix]

That Poole and Smart for Dame (and an asset!) trade is so bleak.

Certainly applaud the creativity of the scenario considering how hard it is to come up with a theoretical Lillard move.

However it mostly shows how wrong the Bucks were for waiting until the summer to bail on him. Not like an aging player having a serious injury was so unlikely.

If that’s the best return we could get and Giannis isn’t demanding out I think we gotta wait until more time ticks off Dame’s deal. A low bball IQ chucker like Poole would be awful alongside Giannis even before we get to Kuzma still being on the roster. Meanwhile the team’s gaping void at the 3 is a much bigger problem.

[mlloyd10]

Spurs get: Giannis
Spurs give: Castle/Johnson/Barnes/#2/#14/ATL 20271st / ATL 2029 1t

Bucks get: PG/Barnes / #2 /#3 / #14 / ATL 20271st / ATL 2029 1st
Bucks give: Giannis/Kuzma/Jackson

76ers get: Castle/Johnson/Kuzma
76ers give: PG/#3

Bucks could then flip Barnes for more assets ( someone looking to dump a contract on us with picks attached) Murray/control of 2026 pick back from Pelicans for Barnes/Pat C

Murray/Green/PG/Bobby/Sims with #2/#3 KPJ off the bench

[machu46]

FWIW, one of the other comments on that Poole trade mentioned potentially subbing Kispert in for Smart and while I'm still not sold on the trade, I would definitely prefer to get Kispert over Smart.

Like trading for Kuzma, it's hard to be confident that things would work out removing a player from such a dire basketball situation, but to Poole's credit, it was maybe the best season of his career vs. acquiring Kuzma in the midst of the worst season of his career. I've mentioned it before, but going to Wizards games this season, I felt legitimately bad for Poole because he would carry the offense for these long stretches where he'd go on a heater to put Washington in the lead and then the other team would take a timeout and you'd see Poole trying to hype the crowd up on his way back to the bench (like we often see Portis do in Milwaukee) and the Wizards fans couldn't have been less interested in cheering the team on lol.

It does feel kinda impossible that our front office could look at how bad the Wizards have been and think "if we can just build our team around Giannis and those Wizards players, we should have a lot of success" but I do think Poole is overhated to an extent.

[Ron Swanson]

Unless it's just a "for the lulz" thing then I can't imagine anyone thinking a team that reunites Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole has any interest in winning basketball games. I think there's precisely two Dame trades that are doable without attaching an asset (Phoenix for Beal, Miami for Terry Rozier and Duncan Robinson) and both are so gross that I don't even see the point. It really isn't that imperative to just straight up dump that money when there's only two years left. We already traded one broken down dude (Middleton) for cap relief and yet we just wanna triple down and keep sinking assets down the drain? Yeah, no thanks.

[emunney]

Unless it's just a "for the lulz" thing then I can't imagine anyone thinking a team that reunites Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole has any interest in winning basketball games. I think there's precisely two Dame trades that are doable without attaching an asset (Phoenix for Beal, Miami for Terry Rozier and Duncan Robinson) and both are so gross that I don't even see the point. It really isn't that imperative to just straight up dump that money when there's only two years left. We already traded one broken down dude (Middleton) for cap relief and yet we just wanna triple down and keep sinking assets down the drain? Yeah, no thanks.

I think the Heat one has some merit. Those guys are both expiring... we could use Rozier in another trade or buy him out, and the fit with Robinson and Giannis could be great.

[Bernman]

Cliffs Notes: Giannis probably staying, so is Doc, KPJ returning, Brook leaving, competition for Trent, Bucks met to reduce tax bill.

https://hardwoodparoxysm.substack.com/p/nba-draftfree-agency-rumors-hearsay?utm_content=buffer59fe7

[EasyE31]

Cliffs Notes: Giannis probably staying, so is Doc, KPJ returning, Brook leaving, competition for Trent, Bucks met to reduce tax bill.

https://hardwoodparoxysm.substack.com/p/nba-draftfree-agency-rumors-hearsay?utm_content=buffer59fe7

One other small note from here: "It’s sounding like the Cavs’ bench is going to be pretty dramatically different with Dean Wade, Sam Merrill, and Ty Jerome all potentially not being brought back."

Sam Merrill and Dean Wade would both be guys that would work in the Giannis + Shooters lineups.

[Dick Tate]

Reuniting Kuz and Poole sounds like a great idea for a team that has it's own draft pick.

[El Pooch Grande]

Good to hear KPJ and Trent, Jr. returning is pretty likely

[emunney]

Good to hear KPJ and Trent, Jr. returning is pretty likely

It's not written clearly but I read it as other teams are interested in Trent, which would make that less likely.

[Frank Nova]

Good to hear KPJ and Trent, Jr. returning is pretty likely

It's not written clearly but I read it as other teams are interested in Trent, which would make that less likely.

I’m already assuming Trent is gone. He likely priced his way out of Milwaukee and selling him on a starting gig for less money isn’t gonna cut it. He wants his bag, he’ll end up in Brooklyn. NAW on the other hand? A starting spot on the wing for less money might be enticing and more realistic.

[Ron Swanson]

The thought of just running this same under-achieving roster back with the same trash coaching staff but minus Dame, Brook, and Trent. Woof. The dread is starting to sink in (thank god Giannis is so loyal).

[emunney]

Good to hear KPJ and Trent, Jr. returning is pretty likely

It's not written clearly but I read it as other teams are interested in Trent, which would make that less likely.

I’m already assuming Trent is gone. He likely priced his way out of Milwaukee and selling him on a starting gig for less money isn’t gonna cut it. He wants his bag, he’ll end up in Brooklyn. NAW on the other hand? A starting spot on the wing for less money might be enticing and more realistic.

I would think NAW would be interested in securing the bag even more so than Trent (19m career earnings vs Trent's 56m).

[Frank Nova]

It's not written clearly but I read it as other teams are interested in Trent, which would make that less likely.

I’m already assuming Trent is gone. He likely priced his way out of Milwaukee and selling him on a starting gig for less money isn’t gonna cut it. He wants his bag, he’ll end up in Brooklyn. NAW on the other hand? A starting spot on the wing for less money might be enticing and more realistic.

I would think NAW would be interested in securing the bag even more so than Trent (19m career earnings vs Trent's 56m).

Yeah that’s a fair point but I don’t think NAW has really earned any sort of significant pay raise. The numbers aren’t really there for NAW outside of a promise he’ll likely surpass 30mpg for the 1st time in his career and we can see what he’s really like in a full time role. The numbers are there for Trent.

[DanoMac]

I'm a big time homer, but, I think we're going to surprise some people next season. Think we're going to be better without Dame

[machu46]

The thought of just running this same under-achieving roster back with the same trash coaching staff but minus Dame, Brook, and Trent. Woof. The dread is starting to sink in (thank god Giannis is so loyal).

He did say he's NOT expecting the roster to look the way it does now, so he's expecting some changes somewhere.

[raferfenix]

Here's the writeup.

Doc playing a "significant played a significant part in Giannis sticking around" stands out too.

BUCKS FANS ARE RIGHT TO HATE US (GIANNIS IS PROBABLY STAYING)

There hasn’t been a definitive and certain statement from Giannis Antetokounmpo or the Bucks leaked to the media about his intention to stay, but the tea leaves all read that way, and that’s the assumption being made by several teams.

So once again, everyone buried the Giannis Bucks era, and once again, the Greatest Buck Ever looks set to stay the course with the team that drafted him. You can’t blame Bucks fans for laughing at everyone and taking the victory lap once again.

That isn’t to say he can’t have a change of heart, or that circumstances can’t change. This is the NBA after all.

Even I got suckered into “surely this is the end” with Giannis. It’s mostly small market fatalism from me. Who stays through all this? Who sticks it out? The small markets always suffer in these situations. But Giannis, as he has always been, is not like other people.

What’s interesting is that several people I spoke to are under the impression there were two meetings. One with Giannis and the front office, with no report of the outcome from it1 and another with ownership and the front office that was focused on finances, specifically trying to reduce or eliminate their tax bill this summer.

I’m skeptical of the idea that ownership issued a directive to get out of the tax completely. If you can find a way to compete next season with Dame on the shelf and with Giannis, you take it. But there’s a reason great reporters like Eric Nehm in Milwaukee have written about the “gap year.”

That said, I’m not expecting the roster to look the way it does now. The team is likely to retain Kevin Porter Jr.2 and most everyone I’ve spoken to assume Brook Lopez is gone.

Lopez might be one of the bigger names on the market. He’s certainly at the end of his career, but like Al Horford, he's a complete pro and a winner who’s easy to fit into a team culture and find a role for, and still makes a difference defensively night to night.

The one player several personnel people expressed interest in was Gary Trent Jr., who’s an expiring minimum.

One more thing: the reports that Doc Rivers played a significant part in Giannis sticking around are not just lip service. God help Giannis.

https://hardwoodparoxysm.substack.com/p/nba-draftfree-agency-rumors-hearsay?utm_content=buffer59fe7

[Ron Swanson]

The thought of just running this same under-achieving roster back with the same trash coaching staff but minus Dame, Brook, and Trent. Woof. The dread is starting to sink in (thank god Giannis is so loyal).

He did say he's NOT expecting the roster to look the way it does now, so he's expecting some changes somewhere.

I mean sure, you're gonna have to bring in guys to at least try and replace those dudes' lost production, so by default it's gonna be a "different roster". Having to essentially find 6-7 legit NBA rotation caliber players with nothing but the MLE, vet minimums, and a late-2nd round pick is quite the tall order though.

[Bernman]

If Bobby doesn't opt-in, it's less security for our big position, but gives us more upside on the market, while maybe enabling them to avoid the tax. Right now there's 23.1m available & if he opts out there'd be 36.5, for around 6 guys.

MLE is 14.1, which they'd probably use heavily (all?) on a starting big. Allows them to "cheap out" on Trent. Still have Green, Rollins if/when he's matched. Let's say that's 4 per yr, same for Sims. 5.1 BAE for a wing, preferably a SF. Then 2 vet mins, at 3+ per. 33-34m, puts you under.

If they adhere tightly to not paying tax, then provided Bobby opted in, they'd have to not use much of the MLE, which is hard to envision if they're trying to appease Giannis especially. So they'd realistically have to pay 8/12 or thereabouts. If they go 10 over, it jumps all the way to 31. They don't want that. Probably are hoping Bobby opts out. Otherwise will have to walk that fine line.