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

[JonHeist]

If a 5 man lineup of Giannis Bobby Trent Green and KPJ can compete at playoff level, we just don’t seem that far away. Maybe it’s the homer Bucks love but I can’t help but feel like re-tooling around those 5 is all that crazy.

My off season plan really starts with:

If Giannis wants Doc to stay he’s gotta move his position and get into the front office. Find a new head coach and someone to replace Buckner as DC.

Bobby opts in and plays out at least 1 more season

Pat opts in so we can trade his expiring

Retain Trent, KPJ and Rollins

Use the 2031 1st to attach to Kuzma to get a better piece. A half year of Kuzmas depreciating contract until he becomes expiring the following year shouldn’t be seen as a contract we need to use the 2031 1st to just get out of but we should be able to at least recoup a usable player that fits better than Kuzma does. Someone like Isaiah Joe is a great mention. OKC would be a good fit for Kuzma coming off the bench and I’m sure they’d love to add that pick to their war chest at the cost of a backup wing.

Hold down the fort until Dame comes back and pray like a maniac 3rd time is the charm.

After what we saw this series vs Indiana and the games after Dame went down, it feels more like we’re closer to just needing upgrades from Doc, Prince and Kuzma. Is that really all that unfathomable?

Next years playoff lineup

Dame/Kpj
Trent/Joe
Green/someone playable
Bobby/someone playable
Giannis /someone playable (Sims?)

*’someone playable’ can be the same guy. That team is still a contender imo.

Giannis is our Kobe, as of now we’re set up much better to rebuild when his game starts to decline and we suck because he can’t carry the team anymore. Trading him now for 75 cents on the dollar will fast track this team into the Charlotte Hornets. But like I said, maybe I’m just a huge homer here but this is how I’m feeling today.

It depends on whether you think playoff level is acceptable, or if you expect contender level when keeping GA. We can do the former, and IMO, cannot do the latter.

Indy was a +2.0 team on the season. We had a very bad coach I will give you, but had to plays balls to the wall to stay even with them. I mean our top lineup played 47ish minutes last night.

indy was +5.6 after the all-star-break

they had an awful start to the season before figuring things out

[DanoMac]

https://www.theringer.com/2025/04/30/nba/giannis-antetokounmpo-trade-rumors-milwaukee-bucks-offseason

Only one that would maybe make me think is the Houston deal. OKC one is laughable

[mke_design]

Yall are going to hate me but i think i might enjoy Giannis going to another team more than anything we can do around him here.

If he goes to a contender, its probably 4-5 years of deep Giannis runs. If he stays, we need a prayer to get out of round 1. Id just rather see him happy and on a dominant team.

This is such a weird take for me to mentally grasp. Who are we to say what makes him "happy".

[MickeyDavis]

Yall are going to hate me but i think i might enjoy Giannis going to another team more than anything we can do around him here.

If he goes to a contender, its probably 4-5 years of deep Giannis runs. If he stays, we need a prayer to get out of round 1. Id just rather see him happy and on a dominant team.

No. Giannis on another team would certainly not be enjoyable. And going to another team doesn't guarantee "deep runs". He's missed 2 of last 3 playoffs with injuries.

Rather see him happy? He's made $283 million (plus $112.5 million the next 2 years), he's been embraced by the community and the state. Won a championship. Made personnel and coaching moves to keep him happy.

The is separate of should he be traded. The issue is would I enjoy it seeing him play on another team. ABSOLUTELY NOT.

[Matches Malone]

https://www.theringer.com/2025/04/30/nba/giannis-antetokounmpo-trade-rumors-milwaukee-bucks-offseason

Only one that would maybe make me think is the Houston deal. OKC one is laughable

Depressing.

I bet the Ringer staff is loving all this Giannis trade content they get to generate the next few months. They're just as bad and toxic as ESPN.

[fansinceforever]

For reference, Durant was sidelined for 552 days following his Achilles injury. I wouldn't pencil Dame in for next year's playoffs.

[paulpressey25]

https://www.theringer.com/2025/04/30/nba/giannis-antetokounmpo-trade-rumors-milwaukee-bucks-offseason

Only one that would maybe make me think is the Houston deal. OKC one is laughable

Every single one of those is terrible except maybe the one where we get Franz Wagner and four #1’s and two pick swaps. And even that isn’t enough.

Houston works if they give up Amen, Sengun, Reed and at least three of those best picks they hold (likely the Phoenix/Brooklyn ones). And frankly after last night I’d like five number ones.

[tydett]

https://www.theringer.com/2025/04/30/nba/giannis-antetokounmpo-trade-rumors-milwaukee-bucks-offseason

Only one that would maybe make me think is the Houston deal. OKC one is laughable

Almost all of those are hilariously unbalanced and terrible. They make the Bucks the 5th worst team in the league instead of the outright worst in years they don't control their draft picks, while giving them picks that will be in the 20s because Giannis will just get his team there by himself. The "closest" is probably Indiana because those guys probably help the Bucks become the new Chicago Bulls, but like, why are we trading Giannis when we can just essentially become the same team if they just keep him?

[DingleJerry]

Assuming the Spurs have some picks that aren't their own that they could send our way I'd probably pick that one oout of that list. Several good young players, plus picks that wouldn't be number 28 (assuming they have other teams, haven't checked).

The Orl players are ok but if all they have is their own picks which will be in the upper 20s then whatever. The OKC package that guy chose to put together is laughable considering what else they could give

[machu46]

https://www.theringer.com/2025/04/30/nba/giannis-antetokounmpo-trade-rumors-milwaukee-bucks-offseason

Only one that would maybe make me think is the Houston deal. OKC one is laughable

I'm not trading Giannis unless he requests a trade anyways, but assuming a world in which he requests a trade and doesn't have a strong preference of where he gets traded to:

Orlando: Pretty good offer IMO. Franz is maybe at the top of my list for guys I'd want to target in this terrible multiverse where we're trading Giannis.
Atlanta: Don't really see Atlanta going in that direction anyways, but regardless, the offer doesn't intrigue me much. Just not excited about either of those players enough personally but I know Jalen has some bigger fans than myself.

Detroit: Just a completely and utterly laughable proposal. Totally get why Detroit would target him but they have nothing of interest to offer us in return.

Houston: Probably as good an offer as we'll find. Potential downside is the money you're likely committing to two players that just aren't good enough to live up to their contracts (particularly Jalen, who I assume will get a near max deal even though he probably doesn't deserve it).

OKC: Laughable offer. Simply put, if we aren't getting Chet or Jalen, there's no reason to entertain it. I'm not sure either of them are really good enough on their own to interest me anyways (more open to Jalen in that regard).

San Antonio: Not terrible but a pretty easy no from me.

Indiana: Even the writer admitted it was a joke. If Siakam were like 8 years younger, I'd entertain it.

Of the players that are potentially on the table from the main teams being discussed, I'd probably rank them:

1. Cooper Flagg
2. Jalen Williams
3. Franz Wagner
4. Alperen Sengun
5. Chet Holmgren
6. Jalen Johnson
7. Stephon Castle
8. Amen Thompson

Forgetting anyone?

[ReasonablySober]

I think if there were seven teams in a bidding war the offers would wind up being a lot better than those.

[JKiddy]

https://fanspo.com/nba/teams/nets/3/draft-picks

[WeMajor34]

https://www.theringer.com/2025/04/30/nba/giannis-antetokounmpo-trade-rumors-milwaukee-bucks-offseason

Only one that would maybe make me think is the Houston deal. OKC one is laughable

If Giannis is traded, I don't think people are prepared for the bounty we'd get back. Generational talents/First ballot HOF'ers/Multi-time MVP's do not get put on the market. It's incredibly rare for that to happen in any sport. Giannis is good enough to swing a title race and I'm sure that's exciting for ESPN/the Ringer to speculate about. The year round discourse does get tiring though.

All of those Ringer proposals are underpays.

It will be funny to see the usual suspects in the media talk about potential trades all summer to only be rebuffed by Giannis himself *insert Wolf of Wall Street "I'm not leaving meme"*

[th87]

Simple Plan - Trade Giannis, get a guy like Jalen Williams and try to get some of our picks back. Develop guys for two years, don't sign any long term contracts, Resign Giannis in 2027

Now this would be something if you could guarantee he returns healthy.

[LISTEN2JAZZ]

There's no Giannis trade that I would agree to unless he strongly wants off the team. I want him to play his entire career with the Bucks far more than I want to roll the dice on picks and prospects.

I don't agree with the notion that a year we don't contend is "throwing away" a season, or wasting Giannis's prime. He already has a championship and some MVPs. Fighting as an underdog in the playoffs has value. Trying to win another MVP has value. Helping to develop younger teammates has value. Climbing the all-time points and rebounds lists has value.

Whether it's realistic or not, my preferred path would be to rebuild around Giannis. Start keeping all our draft picks for a change, and plan for a year with cap space 2-3 off-seasons from now. Hopefully he can buy into that.

[msiris]

Bucks are not very creative so that scares me. Look what we did to get Kuzma. Don't trust them .

[emunney]

The best group on this year's team was Giannis and 4 guys who are all younger than him. People should feel good about this.

[th87]

https://www.theringer.com/2025/04/30/nba/giannis-antetokounmpo-trade-rumors-milwaukee-bucks-offseason

Only one that would maybe make me think is the Houston deal. OKC one is laughable

Almost all of those are hilariously unbalanced and terrible. They make the Bucks the 5th worst team in the league instead of the outright worst in years they don't control their draft picks, while giving them picks that will be in the 20s because Giannis will just get his team there by himself. The "closest" is probably Indiana because those guys probably help the Bucks become the new Chicago Bulls, but like, why are we trading Giannis when we can just essentially become the same team if they just keep him?

Exactly, and even if we miraculously got all top 5 picks back (which we won't), it's still likely we don't end up with a superstar of Giannis' caliber.

Trading our loyal global icon we watched grow up, in order to become a treadmill team that will top out as Orlando anyway (a team that would trade places with us), would be ridiculous.

[DanoMac]

Bucks are not very creative so that scares me.

There's been a lot of shortcomings but I think we've been pretty creative

[aboveAverage]

Jimmy Butler took a group of rag tags to the finals multiple times with a good coach. I’m taking the chance that we strike gold with a few guys off the scrap heap and that we find a good young coach. That scenario and Giannis finishing his career here is a way better prospect to me than these **** trade offers.

Just remember that you guys are suggesting trading Kareem to rebuild the franchise because of a few early playoff exits after winning a title. It may end up setting us back for another 20 years again.

IMO you do everything you can possibly do to convince Giannis that the underdog Duncan/Dirk/Kobe mid career rebuild will be worth it, and hope to god that he agrees.

I think this is why Horst was extended. This will be his sole focus this offseason.