Bucks News, Transactions and Trade Ideas - 2025 Off-season

[ShootingtheJ]

Waive and stretch Dame. Trims $42 million next year, go shopping. The future years hit is inconsequential with the impending cap explosion.

If he won’t retire, worth exploring this. His salary would count only $22.5 million next year, versus the $54.1 he’s owed. So we reduce our payroll by $31.6. We’d be at about $132 million in salary and have about $20 million of cap room to work with.

But we’d have to use some of that to retain Porter and other cap holds. So we really don’t end up with much cash to work with. We’d need Bobby to opt out and move on, to pick up his $13 million additional. Then we’d be at about $35mm of cap space. Who do you target?

Now for the owners, it would be huge financially. They’d get out of the tax in exchange for carrying Dame’s contract for five years at $22.5 million.

The $20 million is enough to work with, as it's enough to make a RFA offer to Quentin Grimes the the 76ers can't match. Then use the Cap Room Exception to sign KPJ. Then sign Sims (bird rights, low cap hold), let Brook walk. Search for a sucker to take Kuzma, I'm thinking Lakers.

[Bucksmaniac]

Doc rivers franchise destroyer, mission accomplished

Give john horst his due respect plz

He didn’t destroy multiple franchises in the space of four years.

[Bucksmaniac]

2025/26 Milwaukee Bucks

Sims
KAT
Kuzma
AJG
35 year old Dame coming off an Achilles tear...
Bobby
KPJ
Some meh Knicks player

Doc

Play in team with no or crappy picks. Kohl era V2

Everyone better pray that the 76ers get the first pick and Giannis isn't scared to play in Philly.

And half this board gone because they can’t stomach another year of Doc.

[fan230]

The very recent postings provide some hopeful advice to get out of our predicament. That is vital to focus on for the Bucks.

I was thinking of something else. What teams should do in future given the realities of second apron, high salaries and hard caps.

It is v risky to pour huge salaries on 2 players. If one of them goes down due to injury, the team is in bad shape for a long time as is the case with Dame’s situation.

It is better to spread the money across 3 players like Giannis Khris Jrue situation was. That way, if one of 3 players went down, the team is not in tatters. We have actually seen several times that khris and Jrue have kept the Bucks afloat with of course Giannis able to return after a series or two.

Basically I feel teams should diversify their risks by having 3 not 2 stars. Perhaps a superstar along with two borderline all stars, rather than 2 superstars like say Giannis and Dame. Thst way the team’s short and long term future are not in peril as is apparently the case with Dame’s injury.

[LUKE23]

No 1st, no cap space, no trade assets, second best player out until Jan-Feb, and currently have a bottom 3 coach. Besides that, we are golden.

It’s over guys. The two options we have are trade GA now and still recoup a hell if a package to get a rebuild started, or hold him, be a late playoff seed/play in team, and watch his trade value go down every game he plays.

[yannisk]

tough luck for Dame, it is a pity since he came back from a dangerous situation and he did not have a chance to compete. Now he will probably lose next season and will attempt to come back at 36+ if he does not decide to retire.

For the Bucks, we would have lost either by Indiana or Cleveland anyway. But now we lost the option to trade Dame this of season and try to retool around Giannis.

Apart of Giannis we don't have assets to do a rebuild, Giannis is getting in the last phase of his career, he won't be an mvp candidate in 3 years, I think the time has come to trade him and start anew.

[slos]

Can the Bucks have access to the disabled exception now? It should be at non tax MLE money. Could be useful.

[MickeyDavis]

Can the Bucks have access to the disabled exception now? It should be at non tax MLE money. Could be useful.

PP addresses this on page 2

[TroyD92]

Doc rivers franchise destroyer, mission accomplished

Give john horst his due respect plz

He didn’t destroy multiple franchises in the space of four years.

He destroyed this one

[Matches Malone]

I'm not opposed to a full rebuild if that's what is best for the franchise long-term, but I have my reservations.

Horst just signed an extension and he'd be leading these negotiations and making these draft selections. I don't want to look back in ten years and see we traded our Franchise savior for a pack of Rashad Vaughn's and Marjon Beauchamp's when it's all said and done.

Horst learned from Hammond on how to pass on talents like Sabonis and go "Swing for the fences" on guys like Thon Maker in the lottery.

[BigO]

I’m not trading Giannis ever and I hope AWFUL things happen to John Horst and our owners. I am NOT a fan of the people running the team and have zero interest in seeing their dumbasses drive to the franchise into the ground. Giving them the green light and tools to do it may as well be a ticket out of town.

I love Giannis, but I love championships even more. Tell me how we get there with Giannis and no draft capital, no assets and no cap space. I'll wait for your answer.

[CannondaleF400]

NBA office getting ready to engineer the trade of Giannis to the Lakers for LeBron. LeBron to immediately retire then sign a one day contract with the Cavs and re-retire.

[Turk Nowitzki]

It sucks Dame will be out but at least we have a promising young PG prospect in AJ Johnson who can take on some of those minutes next season........

[German Athens]

We traded a bucks legend who was still good when available, and a young, promising rookie for one of the absolute worst players in the league.

[blazza18]

It’s not a plan at all but whichever direction we choose we’re going to need to be really lucky and hope for some breaks going our way.

The franchise better be trying to makeover the scouting and development departments now Horst has been extended. We can’t go on failing in both areas any longer.

[Gant]

This is going to be a very active thread.

[BigO]

The franchise can't be considered serious or smart if they keep Doc.

And the fact that they extended horst after coming to the conclusion that Kuzma was a good player is mind boggling.

I would never give this front office the abiltiy to trade Giannis, because we could end up with more Kuzmas. It would have to be for Flagg and Flagg only.

[German Athens]

It’s not a plan at all but whichever direction we choose we’re going to need to be really lucky and hope for some breaks going our way.

The franchise better be trying to makeover the scouting and development departments now Horst has been extended. We can’t go on failing in both areas any longer.

Oh for sure. We probably haven’t had a string of good decisions/luck on the player personnel side since, what 2019?

Sign Bud, bring in Brook, trade for Hill. But even that probably stopped at 3, right?

Then we traded for Mirotic which proved to be a bust of a move.

PJ was a good move, but we had to pay to get off Augustine to acquire PJ.

We need a lot to go right, and trading one of the absolute best players in the world doesn’t magically fix our situation. We’re still owned by a group who’s shown more incompetence than competence, and have a GM who fits the same description.

We need a lot of luck on our side. Maybe we’re due?

[Bucksmaniac]

We traded a bucks legend who was still good when available, and a young, promising rookie for one of the absolute worst players in the league.

The Bucks ‘legend’ would have been Michael Redd if he didn’t play with Giannis.

[pifhluk23]

The franchise can't be considered serious or smart if they keep Doc.

And the fact that they extended horst after coming to the conclusion that Kuzma was a good player is mind boggling.

I would never give this front office the abiltiy to trade Giannis, because we could end up with more Kuzmas. It would have to be for Flagg and Flagg only.

Yup that's why I'm really hoping Philly gets #1, 10.5% chance. I think of all the lotto teams they would be the most likely to give up Flagg for Giannis.