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

[tydett]

There's some Brook talk in the PG thread, but just a reminder that the Bucks had a chance to let him go to Houston and get a bag, while still allowing him some dignity leaving the franchise, but decided a 35 year old big with mobility issues needed $25 million a year. Letting him go and replacing him with minimum big types (of which there are many) would've easily kept this team under the second apron and not necessitated the Midds trade.

[MKE_Beers]

I'm crossing my fingers that Portland feels nostalgic and wants Dame and Pat C for Grant, Ayton, and our pick stuff back (or most of it).

Dame gets to come home to rehab, mentor the young guys, and be a nice draw and story for the team while we get a big expiring in Ayton and some picks back to either retool or hit the hard reset and trade Giannis. We're saddled with Grant but that's the price you pay for the picks.

[German Athens]

I'm crossing my fingers that Portland feels nostalgic and wants Dame and Pat C for Grant, Ayton, and our pick stuff back (or most of it).

Dame gets to come home to rehab, mentor the young guys, and be a nice draw and story for the team while we get a big expiring in Ayton and some picks back to either retool or hit the hard reset and trade Giannis. We're saddled with Grant but that's the price you pay for the picks.

Dude, Dame probably just tore his Achilles. Why would Portland send us any assets?

Maybe you could get Ayton and Grant, but I doubt it.

[Plossum]

The most depressing part of all this is we’re not even close to being a second round team. We haven’t won a playoff series now since 2022.

Who’d have thought after 2021 that’d be the last time we saw Giannis make the finals in a Bucks uniform?

[paulpressey25]

There's some Brook talk in the PG thread, but just a reminder that the Bucks had a chance to let him go to Houston and get a bag, while still allowing him some dignity leaving the franchise, but decided a 35 year old big with mobility issues needed $25 million a year. Letting him go and replacing him with minimum big types (of which there are many) would've easily kept this team under the second apron and not necessitated the Midds trade.

1. Giannis does not like playing center. He would have thrown a fit if we let Brook walk.

2. Brook’s two-year contract is about reason #15 of why we are where we are this morning. If you’d like, I can list them out.

[MKE_Beers]

I'm crossing my fingers that Portland feels nostalgic and wants Dame and Pat C for Grant, Ayton, and our pick stuff back (or most of it).

Dame gets to come home to rehab, mentor the young guys, and be a nice draw and story for the team while we get a big expiring in Ayton and some picks back to either retool or hit the hard reset and trade Giannis. We're saddled with Grant but that's the price you pay for the picks.

Dude, Dame probably just tore his Achilles. Why would Portland send us any assets?

Maybe you could get Ayton and Grant, but I doubt it.

They give us assets to take Grant away since his contract is bad and to make room for their young Cs by moving Ayton. Them getting Dame back as their franchise icon is a small part of it.

[Be Here Now]

To the few who claim getting out of the second apron for roster flexibility was the key to Kuzma trade: I'm seeing ZERO roster flexibility at the moment. Would much rather have Middleton's corpse and expiring plus AJJ lotto ticket than Kuzma. I'm sure 99% of Bucks fans feel the same way.

Pretty crazy that we never got one playoff game where Dame and Giannis were both healthy together. It's like the basketball gods gave us so much during that 2021 postseason run that we're still paying it back.

[TroyD92]

Brook's contract isnt the issue. It's the being unable to move on from him three years ago that is the issue. This guy has been exposed in the playoffs so much and they just continue to do the same things over and over again.

[German Athens]

Here’s one avenue. It would take a boatload of luck, but that’s the situation we’re in.

Trade the ‘31 1st and ‘32 swap to get into the mid lottery like Minnesota did last year. Draft an all-star.



Pretty much every draft has an all-star between pick 10 and 20.

[SirChurros]

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.

I love Flagg but I’m gonna need more assets than just the #1 pick.

[rayallenscalves]

I would love for Giannis to retire a Buck. I also don't want him wasting the next few years of his career surrounded by trash in MKE. With that in mind, I'm hoping Houston loses in the first round and feels the need to make a splash in the offseason. They have the best combination of players and draft capital. Either of these scenarios would make me feel OK.

Giannis/Pat for FVV, Jabari Smith, Cam Whitmore and a bunch of picks.

Giannis for Brooks, Reed Shepherd, Smith, Whitmore and a bunch of picks.

[engelmartin]

Just get us a couple first rounders for next season and I’m back on board. Someone fun to watch in summer league. Flip whoever for young guys

[JRoy]

Assuming Dame ruptured it and the owners won’t fire Doc, why shouldn’t Giannis ask out. And if he does ask out, no reason to dump or stretch Dame immediately. Make the Nets or OKC or Spurs use their assets and draft capital to make a deal that includes the Flagg pick and some of the Bucks own picks back to them. Let the team that wants Giannis figure out the logistics on all that.
Then let Brook walk, let Bobby walk or trade him if he opts in, let Pat’s contract expire, think about keeping KPJ if he’s inexpensive, keep AJG as a shooter for Flagg spacing, keep Sims if he’s cheap and see how he does with starters minutes, if someone offers anything for Kuz they can have him, but worst case you’re just waiting for Dame and Kuz to expire in a couple years while you let Flagg grown in the league. Owners can even be cheap and just let Doc’s contract expire at the same time.
You can also offer to take Grant’s contract off the Blazers hands in exchange for Bobby/Pat/filler if the Blazers give back the Bucks picks.

Not happening.

[Ron Swanson]

Blaming Brook for not being effective against Indy is like blaming Dame for tearing his Achilles. We were already forced into re-signing him and Bobby just to not let quality rotation players walk for nothing. I don't even know what you do here anymore. Until Giannis signals that he's not happy, you gotta sell him on what the plan is going forward, but I just don't know what that plan is at this point.

Easiest sell was a new coach and re-tool around him and Dame for the last 1-2 years they're both under contract. Now, is there even a coach out there that can do anything more than tread water with this roster? Can pretty much guarantee that Trent bolting for a bigger payday. Even if you manage to retain all of KPJ, Brook, Bobby, and Sims, that "talent" around Giannis looks **** bleak man....

[emunney]

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.

We're on the same page now. I wouldn't trade Giannis for Flagg but it's the only one I'd forgive.

[MickeyDavis]

Could do worse than replacing Rivers with Stotts.

[fan230]

Giannis needs role players . Not a superstar per se around him. And a coach with a brain

That is a good point. If we can accomplish this, we can retain Giannis and still build a young team around him.

I would prefer this than to trade him and do a rebuild which could take many years and has a low or very uncertain chance of success. So many even number 1 picks fail to shine. Our best bet is to retain Giannis and put young players around him. Players who can shoot reliably, not a Kuzma kind of player who cannot shoot at all. That is why a clean shooter like Khris worked so well with Giannis and why Kuzma has been a disaster. Khris of course was not just a shooter; he was able to create for himself and others and was a good defender also.

[paulpressey25]

Blaming Brook for not being effective against Indy is like blaming Dame for tearing his Achilles. We were already forced into re-signing him and Bobby just to not let quality rotation players walk for nothing. I don't even know what you do here anymore. Until Giannis signals that he's not happy, you gotta sell him on what the plan is going forward, but I just don't know what that plan is at this point.

Correct.

Brook finished a reasonably close 2nd to Jaren Jackson Jr. for DPOY heading into his July 2023 contract year.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/36219128/grizzlies-jaren-jackson-jr-wins-defensive-player-year#

The issue is that this organization has never understood you need a PJ Tucker small ball 4/5 to compliment Brook not only in the playoffs but the regular season. And frankly even without a new version of PJ, Doc didn't need to play Brook many minutes in this series. That was coaching malpractice.

[Bernman]

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?

I think you wondered what I was worried about when I asked to trade Dame & others in midseason/offseason. You're looking at it. We had a lot of old guys and traded all our picks thru '30. We don't have cap space & play in a small, cold weather market. The owners have no loyalty to the city.

We were playing a very dangerous game. Even in so far as Dame's injury, we can't say it was that unpredictable when it was strained this time last yr. Now, trading Giannis is the only card we have left to play. Not doing so out of nostalgia would be making the same mistake yet again.

[JayMKE]

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.

we’re not getting there trading him either, lmao they extended Horst. I’d rather it rot into the ground then give these idiots more chances to take us that much lower.

I just want to enjoy our time with Giannis then probably forget about the franchise for a decade of darkness, rather not jumpstart that early