Milwaukee Retool Options

[Godaddycurse]

If you were running the bucks how would you go about retooling this team?

Assume Giannis is untouchable, who else would you look to move this offseason? Keep in mind they will likely be in 2nd apron unless some major cost cutting happens.

[babyjax13]

I'd trade Lopez and Portis to start. Both should have some value to help reshape the roster. I'd also consider moving Dame. Middleton's value is going to be depressed because of the injuries, so I think you keep him.

[jayjaysee]

I liked your Smart/Lopez idea, though think Smart is more valuable due to age..

I think I look at Lopez+24th out and two players back? And you have Portland early 2nd this year.. Like WCJ and Caruso. Seems like the value is close enough to be fixed with the right third team.

[HadAnEffectHere]

Team is way too old, no one has any significant value other than Giannis.

Lillard's trade value would be something like... Ben Simmons and Dorian Finney Smith at this point?

A lot of media people want to trade Bropez and have Giannis play center, but Lillard is way too bad at defense for this to be viable.

The Blazers and Bucks being so disappointing this year does raise the value of their secondary swaps in 2028 and 2030 I guess? I would be trying very hard to get those secondary swaps (which the Bucks should not trade, they're too far away to contend)

[HadAnEffectHere]

The total list of positive assets for the Bucks

-Giannis
-Bropez
-Bobby Portis
-2024 late first
-2024 early second
-2026 worst of Pelicans/Bucks first
-2028 worst of Blazers/Bucks first
-2030 worst of Blazers/Bucks first
-2031 second

I believe the 2031 first is untradable due to the second apron (as in, trading that pick would hard cap them at below the second apron)

What could you get for Middleton plus all of those picks? ...... Not a lot I would guess?

[Godaddycurse]

I liked your Smart/Lopez idea, though think Smart is more valuable due to age..

I think I look at Lopez+24th out and two players back? And you have Portland early 2nd this year.. Like WCJ and Caruso. Seems like the value is close enough to be fixed with the right third team.

I had lopez and smart worth about the same because smart misses a lot more games. Caruso would be a good target for them.

[Colbinii]

1) Hire Mike Budenholzer

2) Trade for P.J. Tucker

3) Reach out to Eric Bledsoe's agent

[jayjaysee]

I liked your Smart/Lopez idea, though think Smart is more valuable due to age..

I think I look at Lopez+24th out and two players back? And you have Portland early 2nd this year.. Like WCJ and Caruso. Seems like the value is close enough to be fixed with the right third team.

I had lopez and smart worth about the same because smart misses a lot more games. Caruso would be a good target for them.

Yeah, I think it’s close but Lopez is 36 years old. So I’d side with Smart.

I like Portis+Portland 2nd+?/Caruso for both teams. But tried to go with something bigger for some reason.

[Colbinii]

The Milwaukee Bucks are sort of like how the Cleveland Cavaliers were following the 2017 season where they lost their 2nd best player [Jrue Holiday/Kyrie Irving], have an aging and thin supporting cast next to their star and limited assets. A player they could have used and given up very little for is Bradley Beal, but that ship seems to have sailed.

-Giannis
-Bropez
-Bobby Portis
-2024 late first
-2024 early second
-2026 worst of Pelicans/Bucks first
-2028 worst of Blazers/Bucks first
-2030 worst of Blazers/Bucks first
-2031 second

The first thing I would look to do is add youthful depth. Dennis Smith Jr, Lonnie Walker IV, Cam Reddish and Naji Marshall are all cheap free agent options who could upgrade their 8th/9th man slot(s) and in their mid-20's.

Given the asset, they should try to add another ball-handler as Giannis is a ~75 game player while Lillard is a ~70 game player but aging. I would reach out to the Lakers and see if they would swap Gabe Vincent with Pat Connaughton. If that isn't available, one of Jordan McLaughlin or Monte Morris could be the odd man out in Minnesota, and see if you can get one of them for < tMLE [Morris being worth more than McLaughlin, though McLaughlin being younger].

Aiming higher, I would also reach out to Charlotte to see what they would require to move Grant Williams, Utah for Jordan Clarkson and Sacramento for Kevin Huerter.

The highest-end move I could see is something like Brook Lopez for Wendell Carter Jr. Milwaukee generates a TPE and lock's in a cheap Center for the next 2 seasons while Orlando add's a floor spacing Big next to Paolo at the 4 whom is an elite rim protector and keeps flexibility moving forward in terms of cap space.

The biggest thing here are the following:
1) Middleton is still a good player and just needs to be healthy.
2) Keep the picks for one more season, being patient if an actual high-impact player comes available

Here is an example of a potential roster for 2024-2025

Damian Lillard/Tyler Kolek [Rookie]/Jordan McLaughlin
Malik Beasley/Marjon Beauchamp/Lonnie Walker IV
Khris Middleton/Pat Connaughton/Cam Reddish
Giannis Antentokounmpo/Bobby Portis
Brook Lopez/Mo Bamba or Mason Plumlee

[jayjaysee]

Going away from Lopez..

Middleton+2024 first for Grant?

Find the right third team for Midds. Grant is almost 3 years younger than Middleton and locked up longer. Might be better than hoping Middleton ever gets back to the player he was.

Maybe Milwaukee needs to add the Portland 2nd, maybe they can get push and take a chance on Banton or Rupert or etc..

[tester551]

The total list of positive assets for the Bucks

-Giannis
-Bropez
-Bobby Portis
-2024 late first
-2024 early second
-2026 worst of Pelicans/Bucks first
-2028 worst of Blazers/Bucks first
-2030 worst of Blazers/Bucks first
-2031 second

I believe the 2031 first is untradable due to the second apron (as in, trading that pick would hard cap them at below the second apron)

What could you get for Middleton plus all of those picks? ...... Not a lot I would guess?

The '26, '28, & '30 first round picks are only tradable under a swap situation (due to the Steipen Rule).
'24 pick has to wait until after a player is selected in June.

So in reality, the list of assets is even smaller:

-Giannis
-Bropez
-Bobby Portis
-2024 late first
-2024 early second
-2031 second

[HadAnEffectHere]

The total list of positive assets for the Bucks

-Giannis
-Bropez
-Bobby Portis
-2024 late first
-2024 early second
-2026 worst of Pelicans/Bucks first
-2028 worst of Blazers/Bucks first
-2030 worst of Blazers/Bucks first
-2031 second

I believe the 2031 first is untradable due to the second apron (as in, trading that pick would hard cap them at below the second apron)

What could you get for Middleton plus all of those picks? ...... Not a lot I would guess?

The '26, '28, & '30 first round picks are only tradable under a swap situation (due to the Steipen Rule).
'24 pick has to wait until after a player is selected in June.

So in reality, the list of assets is even smaller:

-Giannis
-Bropez
-Bobby Portis
-2024 late first
-2024 early second
-2031 second

Ehh, the swap swaps in 2028 and 2030 are actually valuable because the Blazers and Bucks were so bad this year. But yes, they're less good than full picks.

[jayjaysee]

The total list of positive assets for the Bucks

-Giannis
-Bropez
-Bobby Portis
-2024 late first
-2024 early second
-2026 worst of Pelicans/Bucks first
-2028 worst of Blazers/Bucks first
-2030 worst of Blazers/Bucks first
-2031 second

I believe the 2031 first is untradable due to the second apron (as in, trading that pick would hard cap them at below the second apron)

What could you get for Middleton plus all of those picks? ...... Not a lot I would guess?

The '26, '28, & '30 first round picks are only tradable under a swap situation (due to the Steipen Rule).
'24 pick has to wait until after a player is selected in June.

So in reality, the list of assets is even smaller:

-Giannis
-Bropez
-Bobby Portis
-2024 late first
-2024 early second
-2031 second

Ehh, the swap swaps in 2028 and 2030 are actually valuable because the Blazers and Bucks were so bad this year. But yes, they're less good than full picks.

They have the 7th best record in the league. And the best player (just my opinion, but one of the best 3-4 for sure?) in the league. And are only 7th best because of a rough last two weeks losing to teams they shouldn’t..

At least be realistic here.

[HadAnEffectHere]

The '26, '28, & '30 first round picks are only tradable under a swap situation (due to the Steipen Rule).
'24 pick has to wait until after a player is selected in June.

So in reality, the list of assets is even smaller:

-Giannis
-Bropez
-Bobby Portis
-2024 late first
-2024 early second
-2031 second

Ehh, the swap swaps in 2028 and 2030 are actually valuable because the Blazers and Bucks were so bad this year. But yes, they're less good than full picks.

They have the 7th best record in the league. And the best player (just my opinion, but one of the best 3-4 for sure?) in the league. And are only 7th best because of a rough last two weeks losing to teams they shouldn’t..

At least be realistic here.

This was as bad as anyone could have expected and makes it much likelier than Giannis leaves before 2028. Lillard falling apart has slammed their window shut and they may just be a first round exit moving forward. Other than Giannis, their starting lineup is

Lillard-34 in July and harshly declining
Malik Beasley-Leaving in FA
Middleton-33 in August and harshly declining
Bropez-Just turned 36

With no almost tradeable assets. There's a decent chance this is the best team Giannis ever has again in Milwaukee... And that they lose to the 76ers in round 1.

So are they "bad" bad? No. Are they bad relative to expectations? Absolutely yes. Does their incredibly disappointing season suggest very bad things for their future? Also yes.

So their swap swaps in 2028 and 2030 are actually valuable.

[JRoy]

Going away from Lopez..

Middleton+2024 first for Grant?

Find the right third team for Midds. Grant is almost 3 years younger than Middleton and locked up longer. Might be better than hoping Middleton ever gets back to the player he was.

Maybe Milwaukee needs to add the Portland 2nd, maybe they can get push and take a chance on Banton or Rupert or etc..

POR isn’t doing that.

[jayjaysee]

Ehh, the swap swaps in 2028 and 2030 are actually valuable because the Blazers and Bucks were so bad this year. But yes, they're less good than full picks.

They have the 7th best record in the league. And the best player (just my opinion, but one of the best 3-4 for sure?) in the league. And are only 7th best because of a rough last two weeks losing to teams they shouldn’t..

At least be realistic here.

This was as bad as anyone could have expected and makes it much likelier than Giannis leaves before 2028. Lillard falling apart has slammed their window shut and they may just be a first round exit moving forward. Other than Giannis, their starting lineup is

Lillard-34 in July and harshly declining
Malik Beasley-Leaving in FA
Middleton-33 in August and harshly declining
Bropez-Just turned 36

With no almost tradeable assets. There's a decent chance this is the best team Giannis ever has again in Milwaukee... And that they lose to the 76ers in round 1.

So are they "bad" bad? No. Are they bad relative to expectations? Absolutely yes. Does their incredibly disappointing season suggest very bad things for their future? Also yes.

So their swap swaps in 2028 and 2030 are actually valuable.

You can say the 28/30 swaps are valuable without all the dramatizing is all. But it’s okay either way. I think you’re right though, a team would probably assign some value to those swaps. Maybe consider them to both be fighting for the play-in spots in 2028..

They could lose in the first round or they could win the finals. That’s the fun of having Giannis on your roster. Just give him a chance.

[jayjaysee]

Going away from Lopez..

Middleton+2024 first for Grant?

Find the right third team for Midds. Grant is almost 3 years younger than Middleton and locked up longer. Might be better than hoping Middleton ever gets back to the player he was.

Maybe Milwaukee needs to add the Portland 2nd, maybe they can get push and take a chance on Banton or Rupert or etc..

POR isn’t doing that.

Yeah, you definitely would need a right third team for Middleton to build a deal out.

[slos]

What about stop trading, stop changing coaches and get younger?

Lillard...........#24
Connaughton...Green
Middleton.......Beauchamp
Giannis..........Jackson.........Livingston
Lopez............Portis...........#35

Bucks will be like that after draft night with 3 spots open and 3 mil to work under the 2nd tax apron. Just let Beverly, Beasley, Crowder, Gallo walk and develop some young talent. I already like Green better than Beasley, both Marjon and AJJ showed flashes under Griffin, I also like picks in the 20s and 30s in this draft and Bucks will have two of those.

[balsamic_ducks]

What about stop trading, stop changing coaches and get younger?

Lillard...........#24
Connaughton...Green
Middleton.......Beauchamp
Giannis..........Jackson.........Livingston
Lopez............Portis...........#35

Bucks will be like that after draft night with 3 spots open and 3 mil to work under the 2nd tax apron. Just let Beverly, Beasley, Crowder, Gallo walk and develop some young talent. I already like Green better than Beasley, both Marjon and AJJ showed flashes under Griffin, I also like picks in the 20s and 30s in this draft and Bucks will have two of those.

Does Giannis have the patience to develop young talent? Very few rookies are ready to contribute to deep playoff runs. I would think Giannis would rather see those picks moved for win now pieces.

[BlazersBroncos]

What about stop trading, stop changing coaches and get younger?

Lillard...........#24
Connaughton...Green
Middleton.......Beauchamp
Giannis..........Jackson.........Livingston
Lopez............Portis...........#35

Bucks will be like that after draft night with 3 spots open and 3 mil to work under the 2nd tax apron. Just let Beverly, Beasley, Crowder, Gallo walk and develop some young talent. I already like Green better than Beasley, both Marjon and AJJ showed flashes under Griffin, I also like picks in the 20s and 30s in this draft and Bucks will have two of those.

Does MIL have the luxury with their aging core to bet on developing talent taken in the late 1st round and beyond? I dont see it.

They will keep shuffling until they find lightning in a bottle or the vets age into obscurity IMO