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

[German Athens]

We were cutting edge with Bud and the "let it fly" stuff in the East and our D was passable. Now everyone is letting it fly but their defense is better.

Our D was elite. We played against a team in the finals that looked a lot like the current contenders - great perimeter play and shotmaking, and 5 guys who could all contribute. They ran into Giannis and he ripped their heart out. The following year, they ran into Luka and he ripped their heart out.

If you took that Bucks team and transported them to today, they’d be in the second round right now giving Cleveland all sorts of problems.

They were really really good.

We won that title because we were big, leaned on our size and beat the **** out of teams. We made it difficult to score in the paint, and murdered teams on the boards closing defensive possessions and extending offensive ones.

I know it’s a copycat league, but when you have someone like Giannis or Jokic you don’t have to copy everyone else’s strategy. You have the unique force that other teams can’t replicate. In the case of Giannis, he’s very versatile, we could play big like that 2021 squad, or we could lean more into quickness in space.

If you think about the teams that beat Bud regularly (playoffs included); Indy has all the tools that would have given us fits.. Yes, Bud is a better coach than Doc but he also had his warts when it came to adjusting. Bud would have played Brook 40 min/game and Portis 30 and we would have been ran off the court.

Indy wouldn't have had to score inside.. the fast break points and 3's would be enough. Giannis would miss half his free throws.

Bud gave Bobby multiple DNP’s against the Nets, and then in the closing game against the Suns pulled Brook and had Bobby close it out with the starters. He was stubborn in his approach at times, but he wouldn’t have done what you said, either.

[mlloyd10]

Jalen Williams/Topic/Hartenstein/Heat 2025 1st/Den 2027 1st / Thunder 2029 1st - Who says no?

[machu46]

Without Brook and Bobby we are way under the 1st apron https://www.spotrac.com/nba/apron/_/year/2025

Brook has a cap hold of about $34 million. It will be interesting to see what he ends up getting, from us or someone else. Bobby too.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/milwaukee-bucks/overview/_/year/2025

Can Bobby do the thing where he opts out to open up his salary slot and then we can resign him after we are over the cap?

No. If he opts in, it costs us $13.4 million. If he declines, I believe (could be wrong but I don't think I am) he carries a $13.4 million cap hold until he signs a new deal, so unless he re-signs at a lower year 1 cost, there's no way to take advantage of his contract.

[slos]

Horst should do anything in his power to sign Porter into a 4 yeal contract. With Dame out his value will explode. I will say the same exact thing for Rollins. Horst should keep KPJ with a 4/60 and Rollins with 4/30 to start making worth his own extension.

Looking at that KPJ/Rollins combo they both seem to fit with Giannis. We saw Giannis working better with a combo guard that can do well many little things (Jrue) than a pure ball dominand PG (Dame). KPJ/Rollins can be effective off ball and that lets Giannis go back to his pre-Dame comfort.

Trent is obviously another keeper. Along with Green I think Bucks can have a damn good basis to restructure their roster. If the 5 mil BAE isn't enough for GTJ, Bucks will have access to the 14 mil DPE from Dame. Trent can happilly have that 1 year "prove it" contract with a promise that he will be taken care off when his Bird rights kick in.

Bobby is the last keeper. He showed up again in the playoffs. Good culture guy, always provides from the bench. Extend him too at 13-14ish money.

What happens with Dame? I don't believe he is tradeable in summer. Maybe in the deadline. Easier next offseason as an expiring. Whenever it can happen I'm just splitting his money into multiple rotation players. Bucks have long tried pairing Giannis with All stars. It worked once with Jrue/Midds. It backfired since then.

There is too much parity in the league right now, which makes it extremely hard to form Big 3s. Entering his 30s I would like to see a Milwaukee team with Giannis and younger good role players that fit with him.

Porter/Rollins
Trent/Green
XXX/XXX
Giannis/Portis
XXX/XXX

That's the blueprint I have in mind. I know that Horst has extremely limited assets to fill the gaps. I don't remember though spending anyting of value for Porter, Rollins, Trent, Green, Bobby. It can be done. Just stop praying for Giannis trades!

What has Rollins done to earn 7M per year? I think we are so starved for young talent that we are massively overinflating his value. Hes not even really that you g for a guy who is very much still developing.I dont think he would get real minutes on many teams. Bucks can and should low ball him and see what other offers he gets before raising it. His strength is defense and in a series where we needed defense he was unplayable. Idk...

Youve posted about us signing NAW a lot in the past, do you still think thats possible?

Celtics fans could ask the same question when Pritchard signed that 4/30 and now here they are with a bargain contract and a guy who just won the 6th of the year. Actually 22 y/o Rollins is quite better everywhere than 25 y/o Pritchard was when he was handed that contract. It could backfire like Nnaji's 4/30, but these contracts can help you way more than they can hurt you. On top of that I really like Rollins, I have compared him many times with Brogdon and I wouldn't hesitate a minute to lock him at 7mil p/y.

As for NAW I was a big fan of stealing him from Minny before Dame went down. I considered him as a natural fit like Daniels was for Trae. I still like him, but these days a bigger wing is my priority. Can NAW play SF? I don't think so.

[slos]

Horst should do anything in his power to sign Porter into a 4 yeal contract. With Dame out his value will explode. I will say the same exact thing for Rollins. Horst should keep KPJ with a 4/60

That's a massive overpay lol. No one in the league is offering him more than 10 per, even 10 seems like a lot and I doubt he can get that. Locking him up for a few years isn't a bad idea but for something like 3/20 or 3/25 max.

I hope you are right. The problem is that after a season starting in Milwaukee his market could explode to 30 p/y just like Giddey. That's why I wouldn't think it twice to pay a bit more p/y just to lock him on a 4 year deal.

If I were Horst I wouldn't push for less money. I would try though to get advantage of his bad history and not guarantee his following years. He had a similar multiyear contract in Houston. It was 4/82,5 but Porter collected only the first 16 mil before being kicked out of the league.

[yb90]

Without Brook and Bobby we are way under the 1st apron https://www.spotrac.com/nba/apron/_/year/2025

Brook has a cap hold of about $34 million. It will be interesting to see what he ends up getting, from us or someone else. Bobby too.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/milwaukee-bucks/overview/_/year/2025

Can Bobby do the thing where he opts out to open up his salary slot and then we can resign him after we are over the cap?

No. If he opts in, it costs us $13.4 million. If he declines, I believe (could be wrong but I don't think I am) he carries a $13.4 million cap hold until he signs a new deal, so unless he re-signs at a lower year 1 cost, there's no way to take advantage of his contract.

Can the Bucks do a S&T if Bobby opys out like the Warriors did with Klay Thompson?

[yb90]

Horst should do anything in his power to sign Porter into a 4 yeal contract. With Dame out his value will explode. I will say the same exact thing for Rollins. Horst should keep KPJ with a 4/60

That's a massive overpay lol. No one in the league is offering him more than 10 per, even 10 seems like a lot and I doubt he can get that. Locking him up for a few years isn't a bad idea but for something like 3/20 or 3/25 max.

I hope you are right. The problem is that after a season starting in Milwaukee his market could explode to 30 p/y just like Giddey. That's why I wouldn't think it twice to pay a bit more p/y just to lock him on a 4 year deal.

If I were Horst I wouldn't push for less money. I would try though to get advantage of his bad history and not guarantee his following years. He had a similar multiyear contract in Houston. It was 4/82,5 but Porter collected only the first 16 mil before being kicked out of the league.

I think the contract should look more like the Scotty Pippen deal(4yr/$9.6m). If they can get Rollins on a 4yr/$12m deal that would be awesome. The other option would be to give him a higher yearly salary but with team options and non guaranteed money. You need tradeable contracts like what Phx did with Okogie or what Philly did with K. Martin jr.

[tedbrogen]

Jalen Williams/Topic/Hartenstein/Heat 2025 1st/Den 2027 1st / Thunder 2029 1st - Who says no?

Bucks. It needs to be better picks than three non-lotto picks.

I’d want the Philly pick this year if it conveys, 28 Dallas swap rights, the Bucks 28 2nd back, and I guess the Heat pick this year. Even then it’s a massive underpay for Giannis unless you are SUPER high on Topic. The only advantage is then flipping Hartenstein for more assets. Specially offer him to the Blazers for Grant’s contract and the Bucks two swaps and one pick back. Or him and Pat’s expiring for Grant and Timelord’s contracts and the swaps and pick back.

Those Thunder and Denver picks are late 20s. Gross.

OKC really has a complete lack of actual valuable firsts outside of that Dallas swap.

[tedbrogen]

Can Bobby do the thing where he opts out to open up his salary slot and then we can resign him after we are over the cap?

No. If he opts in, it costs us $13.4 million. If he declines, I believe (could be wrong but I don't think I am) he carries a $13.4 million cap hold until he signs a new deal, so unless he re-signs at a lower year 1 cost, there's no way to take advantage of his contract.

Can the Bucks do a S&T if Bobby opys out like the Warriors did with Klay Thompson?

I believe so.

[soxperry]

Horst should do anything in his power to sign Porter into a 4 yeal contract. With Dame out his value will explode. I will say the same exact thing for Rollins. Horst should keep KPJ with a 4/60 and Rollins with 4/30 to start making worth his own extension.

Looking at that KPJ/Rollins combo they both seem to fit with Giannis. We saw Giannis working better with a combo guard that can do well many little things (Jrue) than a pure ball dominand PG (Dame). KPJ/Rollins can be effective off ball and that lets Giannis go back to his pre-Dame comfort.

Trent is obviously another keeper. Along with Green I think Bucks can have a damn good basis to restructure their roster. If the 5 mil BAE isn't enough for GTJ, Bucks will have access to the 14 mil DPE from Dame. Trent can happilly have that 1 year "prove it" contract with a promise that he will be taken care off when his Bird rights kick in.

Bobby is the last keeper. He showed up again in the playoffs. Good culture guy, always provides from the bench. Extend him too at 13-14ish money.

What happens with Dame? I don't believe he is tradeable in summer. Maybe in the deadline. Easier next offseason as an expiring. Whenever it can happen I'm just splitting his money into multiple rotation players. Bucks have long tried pairing Giannis with All stars. It worked once with Jrue/Midds. It backfired since then.

There is too much parity in the league right now, which makes it extremely hard to form Big 3s. Entering his 30s I would like to see a Milwaukee team with Giannis and younger good role players that fit with him.

Porter/Rollins
Trent/Green
XXX/XXX
Giannis/Portis
XXX/XXX

That's the blueprint I have in mind. I know that Horst has extremely limited assets to fill the gaps. I don't remember though spending anyting of value for Porter, Rollins, Trent, Green, Bobby. It can be done. Just stop praying for Giannis trades!

What has Rollins done to earn 7M per year? I think we are so starved for young talent that we are massively overinflating his value. Hes not even really that you g for a guy who is very much still developing.I dont think he would get real minutes on many teams. Bucks can and should low ball him and see what other offers he gets before raising it. His strength is defense and in a series where we needed defense he was unplayable. Idk...

Youve posted about us signing NAW a lot in the past, do you still think thats possible?

Celtics fans could ask the same question when Pritchard signed that 4/30 and now here they are with a bargain contract and a guy who just won the 6th of the year. Actually 22 y/o Rollins is quite better everywhere than 25 y/o Pritchard was when he was handed that contract. It could backfire like Nnaji's 4/30, but these contracts can help you way more than they can hurt you. On top of that I really like Rollins, I have compared him many times with Brogdon and I wouldn't hesitate a minute to lock him at 7mil p/y.

As for NAW I was a big fan of stealing him from Minny before Dame went down. I considered him as a natural fit like Daniels was for Trae. I still like him, but these days a bigger wing is my priority. Can NAW play SF? I don't think so.

Prichard was a first round pick on the team that drafted him, not a mid 2nd who had already kicked around the league a little. I honestly think Rollins would get the minimum anywhere else.

[MickeyDavis]

Rollins is a decent, average player. That's fine. Every roster needs some. But let's not get too worked up

[soxperry]

Rollins is a decent, average player. That's fine. Every roster needs some. But let's not get too worked up

What kind of contract do you think he will get?

[MickeyDavis]

Rollins is a decent, average player. That's fine. Every roster needs some. But let's not get too worked up

What kind of contract do you think he will get?

Good question. Not sure. More than the minimum but not much more.

[soxperry]

Rollins is a decent, average player. That's fine. Every roster needs some. But let's not get too worked up

What kind of contract do you think he will get?

Good question. Not sure. More than the minimum but not much more.

Thats about where I am. He was a mid season shoulder surgery away from washing out.

[German Athens]

I think you have to retain Rollins. He’s a high priority. With that said, I don’t think a lot of teams will be chasing him, so my guess is he’d probably get like 4m AAV.

He won’t yet be 23 until July, and he showed the ability to blanket guys defensively, hit standstill 3s, finish over the top of defenders at the rim, and looks on balance and in control when getting to a pull-up jumper.

He hasn’t put it all together, but he’s a very nice prospect and letting him get away would be really stupid.

[Bernman]

We need to build depth of guys who are 2-way players. So they should sign Rollins at anything around 5m or less. I really doubt he'll get more than that. He was an inconsistently used, performing player. Could improve on that w/ experience & fixing his shoulder (when's he going to do that?)

[slos]

Looking into some two way young guys with upside I think Bucks should be checking these players...

1. Ziaire Williams - Improved offensively since Memphis dumped him to Brooklyn with 10 ppg at much better shooting splits (but still 41/34/82). His QO is too expensive, which means he will probably be an UFA. I have him in my watch list for the 2y/10mil BAE.

2. Ousmane Dieng - Oklahoma already carries 15 contracts next season and currently has no room to sign #15 and #24. Dieng is stuck in that deep roster and could be the odd man out. His final rookie scale year fits into the Midds TPE.

3. Patrick Williams - Had a down year and could benefit from a change of scenary. Bulls could be interested in flipping his contract for Kuzma's two years shorter deal.

4. Killian Hayes - With Dame out Bucks will probably look for a third PG through their two way contracts. Hayes looked good in his short stind at Brooklyn, still 24, I would give him a chance.

5. Johnny Davis - Another former lottery pick, Wisconsin guy, little offence but can play D, has the benefit of doubt with Washington being a mess. Bring him home and get him some playing time with the Herd.

This is actually a team I would pleasantly watch..

Porter.......Rollins......Lillard (inj)
Trent........Green......Jackson
Ziaire.......Dieng.......Connaughton
Giannis.....Williams....Livingston
Portis.......Sims.........Smith

2way - Hayes, Davis, #47

At this point with little to none assets to use and 54 mil burned after Lillard went down surrounding Giannis with cheap young talent at least gives you hope. I think I'm done with Brook, Prince, Bev, Gallo, Wes, Ingles and whatever other vets Bucks have been trying for years.

[giannis and 1]

KD for Kuzma, Portis, Pat, ‘31 1st unprotected ‘32 1st swap, ‘25 2nd, ‘31 2nd, ‘32 2nd

KD will be 37 before next season starts.

dont care

[German Athens]

Honestly, I still want to see a KPJ, Rollins, Trent, Dairy, Giannis lineup deployed at some point.

Rollins is our best POA defender, KPJ is our best ball theif from one pass away, Dairy is surprisingly stout, and Gary sometimes gambles right.

On offense, KPJ and Giannis provide rim pressure, Rollins is good supplying additional pressure against a moving defense or shooting from a standstill, and Dairy and Gary are snipers.

[Bernman]

Hot take: Trent should be our lowest priority, priority signing.

- Green & him would ideally be 2's. Green's more of a 2-way guy.
- KPJ is a needed creator/potential core guy.
- Rollins is younger, more creative, a better defender. Could be our Nembhard ultimately.
- We need a viable starting center option more. I'd offer the MLE to Reid/Aldama 1st.
- Otherwise we could settle on bringing Bobby back, at a similar # he was getting paid.

Trent's a viable starting 2 & makes sense for us now Dame's bad d is out. GT already has chemistry built. Ideally you continue w/ the progression we made. But if he went elsewhere, we're ok. Hopefully he takes a handshake deal to get paid around 10 next yr & not eat into our exceptions.