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

[MickeyDavis]

How long do we have to wait for Doc to be fired just to realize he isn't getting fired? I'd like to see it happen by this weekend or I'd get nervous it isn't happening. .

It was one week for Bud. So that's the over/under.

[Istanbullus]

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

Houston declares Thomson off limits.

So Sengun, Eason, Shepard or Green and two firsts?

[FlagsFlyForever]

hey!! he wasnt all that bad that year!

Not directed to anyone in particular, but --

This is literally where we'll head back if we trade Giannis and our draft haul produces at a historical average.

Back to being excited about Bobby Simmons signings and Yi Jianlian potential and Scott Skiles culture and Spencer Hawes improving the tank. Back to no one wearing Bucks gear and old ladies mistaking them for "the high school down the street..."

Giannis Antetokounmpo was a gift handed down after decades of misery and irrelevance, a kid who made little old Milwaukee his hometown, setting down roots and being 100% loyal throughout - "My city's a champion."

He's changed the entire vibe and energy of the city. People I meet have gone from "Milwaukee? Where's that?" to "Oh nice, Milwaukee." There are huge advertisements of him in airports as far as Istanbul (and beyond).

Like literally the best thing to ever happen to Milwaukee.

And we're really going to let the braintrust of Horst, Doc, and Haslam treat him like "just another asset"?? To let Adam Silver and ESPN dictate our house? F that.

It’s a lose-lose. We either trade the greatest player the franchise has and will ever see because we know there’s no path to a title with him any longer or he stays out of loyalty and treads water with 6-10 seed teams for the remainder of his prime. There’s no winning scenario.

Giannis is 30. There are plenty of paths to winning a title with him if he wants to stay.

[tedbrogen]

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

Houston declares Thomson off limits.

So Sengun, Eason, Shepard or Green and two firsts?

Pass. Unless whoever wins the lotto would take that package and send the #1 overall to the Bucks.

[ReasonablySober]

Giannis is 30. There are plenty of paths to winning a title with him if he wants to stay.

Like?

[Istanbullus]

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

Houston declares Thomson off limits.

So Sengun, Eason, Shepard or Green and two firsts?

Pass. Unless whoever wins the lotto would take that package and send the #1 overall to the Bucks.

For the record, I don't want to trade Giannis, especially with Horst manning the trade center and draft board. I want Giannis to stay in Brewtown--I've suffered through the optimism of the Todd Day, Lee Mayberry draft and the Gooden extension and all the other muck--but I want a guarantee that we'll have a great coach that creates a game plan that uses Giannis to elevate the other players, and a GM who gets him those players. Um.

[tedbrogen]

Yup any Bucks fan who thinks that trading him is in both parties best interests is relatively new bucks fan.

Or we're old enough to remember the previous time the Bucks were contenders and they were lead by a #1 overall, #5 overall, #7 overall, and, uh, Sam Cassell.

Winning takes balls.

Where are our other top 7 picks coming from assuming Flagg is one?

Well, if the Pels win the lotto and would do GA for whatever salary filler /#1 2025/26 and 27 swaps back, you’re almost certainly getting another top 5 and top 7 pick in 26 and 27 unless Flagg is way ahead of schedule. Especially because in that scenario you’d ride out the Dame and Kuz contracts so you are not making the playin.

So that’s the path. The other path is offering Kuz and Pat to the Pels for Murray’s contract and their swaps back. While getting #1 from say the Nets for GA.

[Xanadu]

Or we're old enough to remember the previous time the Bucks were contenders and they were lead by a #1 overall, #5 overall, #7 overall, and, uh, Sam Cassell.

Winning takes balls.

Where are our other top 7 picks coming from assuming Flagg is one?

Well, if the Pels win the lotto and would do GA for whatever salary filler /#1 2025/26 and 27 swaps back, you’re almost certainly getting another top 5 and top 7 pick in 26 and 27 unless Flagg is way ahead of schedule. Especially because in that scenario you’d ride out the Dame and Kuz contracts so you are not making the playin.

So that’s the path. The other path is offering Kuz and Pat to the Pels for Murray’s contract and their swaps back. While getting #1 from say the Nets for GA.

Look Flagg is a talented prospect no doubt but his impact ever reaching Giannis levels is hard to see. I mean star impact and mvp impact are so much different than people really seem to realize. Plus as good as prospect Flagg is he isnt coming in a finished product. How long until he reaches his ceiling and will that even happen in Milwaukee. Remember all the Giannis to whatever big market articles we have constantly seen through career. Any star especially a young hype backed prospect will be barraged with that same constant speculation. Do you really see another guy like Giannis who doesn't let that impact him. Especially someone like Flagg who has expectations immediately unlike a young Giannis. Anytime something goes wrong people will be saying Flagg needs to get out of Milwaukee asap of he wants to be an all time great.

[benultimate]

People need to pump the brakes.

Right now the Bucks brakes are completely gone.

Oh no the brakes cut light

[BUCKnation]

Thompson is the only one Id want from Houston. Let them stay mid if they wont deal.

[ReasonablySober]

The Do Nothing And Hope For The Best plan around keeping Giannis long term would be to tank the next two years and hope the Pels are so bad that they don't need to swap picks. Like, the Bucks field a roster of Giannis and 11 bums, the Pels trade Zion for picks, and both teams end up in the top five the next couple years. Bucks go into the '27-28 season with a ton of cap space, Giannis on an extension, and a couple recent high lotto picks.

[Bernman]

If they can't get Cooper & friends, they could go into the middle of the season seeing how well the combo of a new coach & the MLE(s) additions work together. If they don't, trade Giannis then. Whatever team gets him would still guarantee 2 playoffs all the same.

But any personnel addition they make would have to be w/ an eye to the future & super careful. There can be no older players nor splurges that can handcuff you. Everyone you need to be able to justify retaining post-Giannis or have resale value.

[German Athens]

Wonder what Bostons appetite is to keeping their roster intact, specifically with regard to Hauser.

[Baddy Chuck]

Not sure you could find many physicians who would say it's not a full year injury.

Arent most Achilles 8-10 months? I dont think the standard is full recovery with ramp up but just when he is allowed to physically play again.

Durant missed a full year, Klay missed a full year, Cousins and Wall were injured in the winter and missed the rest of that season AND the entire next one. Some guys come back quicker -- Kobe was in the same calendar year, and Wes Matthews tore his in March and laced them up for the Mavs on opening night. Definitely not saying it can't/won't happen. But I don't think it's going to take some special dispensation to grant us a DPE for an Achilles' tear.

Just catching up on this thread a little. Feels like this is almost a forgone conclusion? Like last year Daron Holmes, a 21 year old, tore his achilles a little later in the offseason sure, but Nuggets got a DPE for him as it was deemed the achilles injury would cause him to miss the season, and he did.

[Prez]

Out of respect for Giannis and not wanting to squander his prime I am not opposed to a rebuild, but it would eliminate any interest I have in basketball. I don't think I could watch NBA games knowing Giannis is playing in a different team's jersey. Short of us getting a blue chip prospect like Flagg or something I genuinely wouldn't give a **** about anything happening in the NBA for at least like a year or two.

[humanrefutation]

So why hasn't Doc gotten canned yet?

It was a week before Bud was fired in 2023 so I'm holding out hope it will be done. But each day that goes by my optimism will dwindle.

Does the league have some sort of directive about making major moves in the middle of a round? Because otherwise, I'm afraid they'll give Doc a reprieve because of the cost of canning him and Lillard's injury.

[humanrefutation]

The Do Nothing And Hope For The Best plan around keeping Giannis long term would be to tank the next two years and hope the Pels are so bad that they don't need to swap picks. Like, the Bucks field a roster of Giannis and 11 bums, the Pels trade Zion for picks, and both teams end up in the top five the next couple years. Bucks go into the '27-28 season with a ton of cap space, Giannis on an extension, and a couple recent high lotto picks.

I don't think Giannis agrees to that, unfortunately. His directive has always been that the team needs to compete for titles. He's entering the last few years of his prime and he won't want to waste them tanking.

Obviously, competing for title will be nearly impossible in the short term, which is why they have to consider moving him.

[Dick Tate]

People I meet have gone from "Milwaukee? Where's that?" to "Oh nice, Milwaukee." There are huge advertisements of him in airports as far as Istanbul (and beyond).

Like literally the best thing to ever happen to Milwaukee.

Great post.
We live in the Seattle area. I was a Bucks fan in a sister city type of way since the 70s (a playoff game against the Bucks in 1980 from the Kingdome 300 level was surreal. It was like looking down at a crowd watching a game while looking off at this dark expanse around it.) I became more Bucks are #1 after, uh…
My wife finally started showing interest in watching several years back. She received the “Just a girl who loves Milwaukee” (with Bucks logo) shirt she ordered today. Bad timing.

[RiotPunch]

I think Giannis will look for any reason to stay, but he needs to see a blueprint for a competitive team.

Variations of this deal have been floated, and maybe a better idea exists, but this one is growing on me. Credit to babyjax, a Jazz fan on the T&T board:

MKE: Collin Sexton, John Collins, Svi Mykhailiuk, #21
UTA: Lillard, '31 1st swap

Obviously, Sexton and Collins are flawed players, but they are great at what they're great at. You can make that work around Giannis. Or you can at least sell that to Giannis. They are both expiring, so you effectively get out from Dame's contract after one season while having two legitimate rotation players next season.

You could then either add a rookie contract at 21, or attach it to Kuzma for something like Grant Williams and Josh Green.

*Hypothetically*

Sexton / KPJ / Rollins
Trent / Green
Dairy / Williams
Giannis / Collins
Portis / Sims

Again, flawed, but that roster could **** around and get in the 3-5 seed range again (or play-in with Doc), with the potential for significant cap space after the season.

[Plossum]

We’re snookered. This is a loaded draft and may be our best chance to pivot into a blue chip prospect to start a rebuild.

We will at least get a pick in 2026, 2028 and 2030. But prob not very good. We can be a dumping ground for bad contracts and get more picks that way. Rehab and sell guys for more assets. Then maybe around 2030ish we’ve hopefully stabilised and can look to start being a playoff team again, hopefully around our bluechipper who will be rookie extended by then. This is optimistic but realistic I think.

Keeping Giannis is not terrible either but our upside is limited. Our only trade chip really then becomes the 31 pick. Brook is gone and our only hopes for additions is an MLE and vet mins. So the same team we have with some minor additions.

So basically our current team with an MLE level talent (Cam Thomas? Kelly Oubre? NAW? Davion Mitchell? Bruce Brown?). We can bolster the roster a little and weeding out vets from the team or to the bench (TP, Kooz) while playing our actually good young guys could make a difference.

Still feels as though this route has a second round cap on it. But you never know I guess if the coaching is right and there is some surprise improvement (ie KPJ).

It feels wrong to trade Giannis it may be the best path we have to another title. Either paths are pretty slim though tbh. We’re not in a great spot.