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

[pilprin]

If Giannis wants to stay…you retool and roll.

[soxperry]

If Houston doesn’t want to offer Thompson, they can pound sand.

I am surprised by how many want to run it back. With Dame being untradeable and Kuzma best case having to attach assets to move, this team has almost zero trade options. They don’t have a first. They have a few MLE, DPE, BAE to use and God forbid they trade their 2031 1st. I don’t see any way they build a roster that was even as good as this years, which wasn’t good enough. I also think they keep Doc.

It’s just a nightmare situation. I just don’t have any interest in watching GA kill himself to lead a play-in team next season.

Its hilarious how many fans of other teams have untouchables in a giannis deal.

Bro....youre going to trade whatever the Bucks want. Its **** Giannis.

That said, getting any player back should just be a method to peak out their stock and trade them too. We just aren't even sniffing contention any time soon in that scenario

[jschligs]

If Giannis wants to stay…you retool and roll.

I said this in Reddit post. After this upcoming year, which we can consider a lost cause, we will have the least favorable pick in the 1st round with NOP (they stink too). Brook, Bobby, Pat will be gone. Dame will be back and expiring assuming he opts in. Kuzma will be a cheap expiring.

Roll the dice on next year, try to move on from the dead weight contracts, and regroup for 2026-2027 season where we will have many more options.

[BigO]

This is where I'm at. I agree that getting multiple players and draft picks rarely works. Think Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Milwaukee.

Here's what I would do:

1) Meet right away with Giannis (it's reported that is what they will be doing).

2) If he wants to stay in Milwaukee, give him the max extension you can right now.

3) If he refuses, you cannot wait another year when his value will be significantly less, with only one year to go.

4) Do whatever you can to get Flagg and whatever else you can get.

Under this scenario, Giannis calls the shots. If he signs an extension, fine. If not, that's all I need to know.

Giannis is doing the usual exit interview that he and every other player do every year. He's not eligible for an extension. If he's ever traded, the team acquiring him is planning on extending him, so his inherited contact is irrelevant.

I agree that Flagg is an exciting prospect, but what guarantee are you offering that he'd have even a once of loyalty to Milwaukee?

What makes you think he wouldn’t? What superstar lately have bolted from the team that drafted them?

If Giannis is eligible for an extension in October, get a handshake on that now and then announce he is stayng with the Bucks, to end all specualion, including our own.

This isn't that difficult to understand. If he wants to stay (as shown by wanting an extension), then keep him.

But if he isn't sure or wants to wait a year to see what the Bucks can do, I'm going after Flagg. The Bucks cannot wait till his final year,, because his value will drop.

Right now, a team will trade for Giannis knowing they have two years to win him over. But next year, the team will demand an extension before finalizing a deal.

[Baddy Chuck]

I am surprised by how many want to run it back. With Dame being untradeable and Kuzma best case having to attach assets to move, this team has almost zero trade options. They don’t have a first. They have a few MLE, DPE, BAE to use and God forbid they trade their 2031 1st. I don’t see any way they build a roster that was even as good as this years, which wasn’t good enough. I also think they keep Doc.

I think the next few years would be pretty unfruitful but I'd be willing to do it if Giannis wants to go the Dirk route. After those years I think we could build a decent team, like a better chance than we'd have blowing it up now. Giannis still only 32, we'd be one of the top teams in free agency, 27 pick and 31 first to trade if needed, guys we already have I think have proven there's a decent chance they're pieces you could compete with.

[German Athens]

I don’t really think Giannis’s value will drop much next year.

Jrue was traded to us on an expiring deal, and we gave up Bledsoe, 3 1sts, and 2 swaps. I don’t think Jrue was fetching more than that if traded one year earlier. His value held steady.

I think if we trade Giannis, the team that acquires him will have a plan to go all-in, and Giannis will sign an extension with them.

[ReasonablySober]

Hollinger:

Instead, the Bucks should be looking to get in the lottery this June as part of any trade, kick-starting things right now.

The most obvious candidate is Houston. The Rockets can offer an electrifying mini-Giannis in Amen Thompson, salivating draft picks in the form of a 2025 lottery pick from the Suns, unprotected Phoenix firsts in 2027 and 2029 (the latter of which is the better of Phoenix’s or Dallas’) and enough salary-matching flotsam to offset Antetokounmpo’s incoming $54.6 million and get a deal to the finish line.

Brooklyn is the other candidate, with enough cap room to swallow other Milwaukee contracts (maybe not Lillard’s, but could the Nets take Connaughton and Kuzma?). The Nets can’t put a talent like Thompson in a trade, but they have four firsts in 2025 (likely pick Nos. 6, 19, 26 and 27), an unprotected Suns swap in 2028, three unprotected future firsts from the Knicks and all of their own future draft picks available in a trade. The combined cap relief and draft capital is a pretty rare package, especially with the Bucks’ recent tax issues.

No other team can match the Nets and Rockets on draft capital unless Oklahoma City decides to get in the game, and I’m skeptical the Thunder would pursue this once the price became clear.

However, two other places the Bucks could look for a partner are San Antonio and Toronto. No, Bucks fans, you’re not getting Victor Wembanyama for Giannis. But you might get Stephon Castle. The Spurs also have two 2025 lottery picks (their own and Atlanta’s), an unprotected 2027 pick from Atlanta and several swaps, plus they can deal their own picks in 2029 and 2031. Keldon Johnson and Harrison Barnes would be the salary ballast. If Antetokounmpo was OK going to any non-glamour market, this is probably the one where the allure is clear (Wemby-Giannis!) and the trade assets make sense.

Finally, there’s Toronto, where team president Masai Ujiri has been rumored to be scheming ways to get Giannis since roughly forever. The trade equation here seems pretty simple: Toronto’s 2025 lottery pick and Scottie Barnes, plus whatever other draft considerations the Bucks would want to level out the deal. (The Raptors have all their future firsts to put in a trade.)

Those four teams are the favorites, but the Bucks will get calls from all 29 if they make Antetokounmpo available. Even without access to their own future picks, the Bucks are in such a bad spot that the only logical move is to bang the gavel on a Giannis bidding war and rebuild with the spoils.

[German Athens]

I am surprised by how many want to run it back. With Dame being untradeable and Kuzma best case having to attach assets to move, this team has almost zero trade options. They don’t have a first. They have a few MLE, DPE, BAE to use and God forbid they trade their 2031 1st. I don’t see any way they build a roster that was even as good as this years, which wasn’t good enough. I also think they keep Doc.

I think the next few years would be pretty unfruitful but I'd be willing to do it if Giannis wants to go the Dirk route. After those years I think we could build a decent team, like a better chance than we'd have blowing it up now. Giannis still only 32, we'd be one of the top teams in free agency, 27 pick and 31 first to trade if needed, guys we already have I think have proven there's a decent chance they're pieces you could compete with.

I think you can shift that timeline one year forward. We won’t have a pick in 27, but we will in 26.

If we find a way to get some expiring deals, and recoup the young group we just started around Giannis, I think you ride that group for one season, and then all options are on the table next off-season.

[MickeyDavis]

Yes let's give Horst lottery picks for one of the GOAT because his draft record is stellar. Hell, this organization has botched lottery pick (and non lottery pick) after lottery pick. Maybe we can turn those lottery picks into

Thon Maker
Jabari Parker
John Henson
Jimmer Fredette (traded)
Joe Alexander
Yi Jianlian
T.J. Ford
Marcus Haislip

[Baddy Chuck]

Hollinger:

Instead, the Bucks should be looking to get in the lottery this June as part of any trade, kick-starting things right now.

The most obvious candidate is Houston. The Rockets can offer an electrifying mini-Giannis in Amen Thompson, salivating draft picks in the form of a 2025 lottery pick from the Suns, unprotected Phoenix firsts in 2027 and 2029 (the latter of which is the better of Phoenix’s or Dallas’) and enough salary-matching flotsam to offset Antetokounmpo’s incoming $54.6 million and get a deal to the finish line.

Brooklyn is the other candidate, with enough cap room to swallow other Milwaukee contracts (maybe not Lillard’s, but could the Nets take Connaughton and Kuzma?). The Nets can’t put a talent like Thompson in a trade, but they have four firsts in 2025 (likely pick Nos. 6, 19, 26 and 27), an unprotected Suns swap in 2028, three unprotected future firsts from the Knicks and all of their own future draft picks available in a trade. The combined cap relief and draft capital is a pretty rare package, especially with the Bucks’ recent tax issues.

No other team can match the Nets and Rockets on draft capital unless Oklahoma City decides to get in the game, and I’m skeptical the Thunder would pursue this once the price became clear.

However, two other places the Bucks could look for a partner are San Antonio and Toronto. No, Bucks fans, you’re not getting Victor Wembanyama for Giannis. But you might get Stephon Castle. The Spurs also have two 2025 lottery picks (their own and Atlanta’s), an unprotected 2027 pick from Atlanta and several swaps, plus they can deal their own picks in 2029 and 2031. Keldon Johnson and Harrison Barnes would be the salary ballast. If Antetokounmpo was OK going to any non-glamour market, this is probably the one where the allure is clear (Wemby-Giannis!) and the trade assets make sense.

Finally, there’s Toronto, where team president Masai Ujiri has been rumored to be scheming ways to get Giannis since roughly forever. The trade equation here seems pretty simple: Toronto’s 2025 lottery pick and Scottie Barnes, plus whatever other draft considerations the Bucks would want to level out the deal. (The Raptors have all their future firsts to put in a trade.)

Those four teams are the favorites, but the Bucks will get calls from all 29 if they make Antetokounmpo available. Even without access to their own future picks, the Bucks are in such a bad spot that the only logical move is to bang the gavel on a Giannis bidding war and rebuild with the spoils.

I'm surprised Atlanta isn't thrown out more with Giannis. I'm sure they'd love to pair Trae with a star like Giannis. How much worse of a prospect is a guy like Dyson Daniels than Amen Thompson? They got a recent 19 year old #1 pick who showed some real promise. Jalen Johnson before the injury was showing another step to his game. They have a boatload of picks in the cupboard.

[BigO]

Yes let's give Horst lottery picks for one of the GOAT because his draft record is stellar. Hell, this organization has botched lottery pick (and non lottery pick) after lottery pick. Maybe we can turn those lottery picks into

Thon Maker
Jabari Parker
John Henson
Jimmer Fredette (traded)
Joe Alexander
Yi Jianlian
T.J. Ford
Marcus Haislip

MD is on a heater.

[fansinceforever]

Exactly, it's Giannis. If Houston goes down, we can demand whatever we want and they will probably do it.

If OKC goes down again, Can we not demand Chet and Williams +? contract matching aside.

[ABucksFan]

It's pretty impressive how bad Horst has been with the draft. We can't even draft role players...a big reason why we're in the spot we are today. Draft and development has failed miserably.

[Baddy Chuck]

I am surprised by how many want to run it back. With Dame being untradeable and Kuzma best case having to attach assets to move, this team has almost zero trade options. They don’t have a first. They have a few MLE, DPE, BAE to use and God forbid they trade their 2031 1st. I don’t see any way they build a roster that was even as good as this years, which wasn’t good enough. I also think they keep Doc.

I think the next few years would be pretty unfruitful but I'd be willing to do it if Giannis wants to go the Dirk route. After those years I think we could build a decent team, like a better chance than we'd have blowing it up now. Giannis still only 32, we'd be one of the top teams in free agency, 27 pick and 31 first to trade if needed, guys we already have I think have proven there's a decent chance they're pieces you could compete with.

I think you can shift that timeline one year forward. We won’t have a pick in 27, but we will in 26.

If we find a way to get some expiring deals, and recoup the young group we just started around Giannis, I think you ride that group for one season, and then all options are on the table next off-season.

Not sure I'd really move up the timeline but hitting that pick (with immediate results) would help a lot. Still think 2027 when you could add impact guys in free agency is the play. Suppose the expirings and picks could land those as well, maybe.

[fansinceforever]

Yes let's give Horst lottery picks for one of the GOAT because his draft record is stellar. Hell, this organization has botched lottery pick (and non lottery pick) after lottery pick. Maybe we can turn those lottery picks into

Thon Maker
Jabari Parker
John Henson
Jimmer Fredette (traded)
John Henson
Joe Alexander
Yi Jianlian
T.J. Ford
Marcus Haislip

MD is on a heater.

We're going around in circles at this point. We all know his track record

No one here loves Horst. One camp thinks we're a play-in team with a worse roster than this season by keeping Giannis. The other thinks Giannis/Green/KPJ/GTJ/ Bobby (if they can be retained) core plus whatever other moves you make on the margins is fine until the books are clear in '27.

Truly, it doesn't matter what we think. It's really about what Giannis thinks. The organization isn't going to actively trade him.

[ReasonablySober]

I'm surprised Atlanta isn't thrown out more with Giannis. I'm sure they'd love to pair Trae with a star like Giannis. How much worse of a prospect is a guy like Dyson Daniels than Amen Thompson? They got a recent 19 year old #1 pick who showed some real promise. Jalen Johnson before the injury was showing another step to his game. They have a boatload of picks in the cupboard.

Giannis for Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu, and Zaccarie Risacher would work on July 1st.

[BUCKnation]

Hollinger:

Instead, the Bucks should be looking to get in the lottery this June as part of any trade, kick-starting things right now.

The most obvious candidate is Houston. The Rockets can offer an electrifying mini-Giannis in Amen Thompson, salivating draft picks in the form of a 2025 lottery pick from the Suns, unprotected Phoenix firsts in 2027 and 2029 (the latter of which is the better of Phoenix’s or Dallas’) and enough salary-matching flotsam to offset Antetokounmpo’s incoming $54.6 million and get a deal to the finish line.

Brooklyn is the other candidate, with enough cap room to swallow other Milwaukee contracts (maybe not Lillard’s, but could the Nets take Connaughton and Kuzma?). The Nets can’t put a talent like Thompson in a trade, but they have four firsts in 2025 (likely pick Nos. 6, 19, 26 and 27), an unprotected Suns swap in 2028, three unprotected future firsts from the Knicks and all of their own future draft picks available in a trade. The combined cap relief and draft capital is a pretty rare package, especially with the Bucks’ recent tax issues.

No other team can match the Nets and Rockets on draft capital unless Oklahoma City decides to get in the game, and I’m skeptical the Thunder would pursue this once the price became clear.

However, two other places the Bucks could look for a partner are San Antonio and Toronto. No, Bucks fans, you’re not getting Victor Wembanyama for Giannis. But you might get Stephon Castle. The Spurs also have two 2025 lottery picks (their own and Atlanta’s), an unprotected 2027 pick from Atlanta and several swaps, plus they can deal their own picks in 2029 and 2031. Keldon Johnson and Harrison Barnes would be the salary ballast. If Antetokounmpo was OK going to any non-glamour market, this is probably the one where the allure is clear (Wemby-Giannis!) and the trade assets make sense.

Finally, there’s Toronto, where team president Masai Ujiri has been rumored to be scheming ways to get Giannis since roughly forever. The trade equation here seems pretty simple: Toronto’s 2025 lottery pick and Scottie Barnes, plus whatever other draft considerations the Bucks would want to level out the deal. (The Raptors have all their future firsts to put in a trade.)

Those four teams are the favorites, but the Bucks will get calls from all 29 if they make Antetokounmpo available. Even without access to their own future picks, the Bucks are in such a bad spot that the only logical move is to bang the gavel on a Giannis bidding war and rebuild with the spoils.

I'm surprised Atlanta isn't thrown out more with Giannis. I'm sure they'd love to pair Trae with a star like Giannis. How much worse of a prospect is a guy like Dyson Daniels than Amen Thompson? They got a recent 19 year old #1 pick who showed some real promise. Jalen Johnson before the injury was showing another step to his game. They have a boatload of picks in the cupboard.

I'm guessing they don't think Trae is the guy and the guy is actually Johnson. I'd be pretty content with Johnson as the main piece coming back. From WI and was looking like a potential all star.

[Frank Nova]

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.

I think the 5 guys we had playing at playoff level this post season can be turned into a legit contender with a better coach and upgraded depth. What Giannis does in the post season is remarkable, you have a chance to win every game when you don’t have total negative players losing ground every time they’re in the game like Prince Kuzma and Brook. Get Doc, Ham and Buckner out of the schematic chairs, use the available money wisely and I don’t think we are as far away as the nay sayers think. It shouldn’t be that hard of a sell to keep Giannis content and motivated imo. Maybe I’m reaching but gambling on that seems far more redeemable than a Giannis trade. Unless he truly wants out, then none of this matters anyway.

[pifhluk23]

The Horst extension and Giannis' post game comments make me think he's staying. Doc is staying as well, I'd put money on it. I think it's the wrong decision and will ultimately doom the franchise for 10-20 years of terrible/mediocre basketball but I understand why they want to keep trying with Giannis. We'll have a better idea of where NO is at by the end of the Summer, if they blow it up we really really should try to suck next year but that's just so hard with Giannis on the roster.

[BigO]

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.

I think the 5 guys we had playing at playoff level this post season can be turned into a legit contender with a better coach and upgraded depth. What Giannis does in the post season is remarkable, you have a chance to win every game when you don’t have total negative players losing ground every time they’re in the game like Prince Kuzma and Brook. Get Doc, Ham and Buckner out of the schematic chairs, use the available money wisely and I don’t think we are as far away as the nay sayers think. It shouldn’t be that hard of a sell to keep Giannis content and motivated imo. Maybe I’m reaching but gambling on that seems far more redeemable than a Giannis trade. Unless he truly wants out, then none of this matters anyway.

Reasonable take, all of which is negated if they keep Doc.