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

[tedbrogen]

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.

I just don’t see a path to retaining Trent. You don’t want to give him the full MLE when you can use that to lock up Rollins and KPJ on long, non-expensive deals. I guess if they get the injury exception for 1/14 and he doesn’t have any multi year deals that are close to that, sure, but I think he gets the full MLE from someone desperate for shooting and with no other avenues to find it. Unless not many teams have the full MLE available.

But yeah, I do like that lineup. And I like retaining Sims as a rim protector who plays any time Giannis isn’t on the floor. And keeping Bobby for scoring, for when Giannis is out, and to play along side Giannis as a fake center because Giannis HAS to have a center out there with him.

But I also want them to rip the bandaid off and let Brook walk since the other option is him starting and playing big minutes when he is completely immobile. I’d trade Kuz for anything including the glimmer of hope that Patrick Williams isn’t awful or that D. Murray bounces back. Kuz is 100% unplayable next to Giannis. And Prince 100% needs to go. If anyone watched the Pacers series or even the regular season and thinks having those three around is better than tossing out random G-Leaugers, I don’t know what to tell them.

So if they are keeping Giannis, it’s probably best to surround him with three guard lineups and just deal with being undersized hoping Sims and Bobby and Giannis is enough rebounding to not get crushed on the boards.

[tedbrogen]

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.
- 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.

Agreed. I’d definitely prioritize KPJ and Rollins over GTJ. They are two ways guys with a ton of upside. If you can keep GTJ without using the MLE, sure he’d be nice to keep around, but you can’t lose KPJ or Rollins in the process when they are young enough that they could be legit two ways starters in the future.

Zero chance you get Reid on the MLE. It would be great but I don’t see how the Wolves don’t easily match that.

[Bernman]

Agreed. I’d definitely prioritize KPJ and Rollins over GTJ. They are two ways guys with a ton of upside. If you can keep GTJ without using the MLE, sure he’d be nice to keep around, but you can’t lose KPJ or Rollins in the process when they are young enough that they could be legit two ways starters in the future.

Zero chance you get Reid on the MLE. It would be great but I don’t see how the Wolves don’t easily match that.

If/when Reid declines his PO, he'll be unrestricted. Hasn't been a starter for them, like he'd be here. The Wolves already have the 2nd highest payroll in the league. Are a 2nd apron/tax heavy team. They've already been slashing payroll. It was a motive in the Towns trade. If Reid continues to not be a starter for them especially, I really doubt they're giving him 20m/yr. We can give him almost 16 over a 4 yr MLE contract.

I'm not saying I expect it, but it's plausible. Aldama's less likely with the Grizz' salary situation. But again, he's not been a starter for them. They're not that different than the status Bobby & Brook had when we signed them on far less than the MLE. Few teams will have cap space to compete above the MLE. They don't necessarily fit all their timelines. And the middle class in the league is continuing to shrink.

[ShootingtheJ]

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.
- 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.

Agreed. I’d definitely prioritize KPJ and Rollins over GTJ. They are two ways guys with a ton of upside. If you can keep GTJ without using the MLE, sure he’d be nice to keep around, but you can’t lose KPJ or Rollins in the process when they are young enough that they could be legit two ways starters in the future.

Zero chance you get Reid on the MLE. It would be great but I don’t see how the Wolves don’t easily match that.

We have Early Bird rights on Rollins, no need to use an Exception on him.

[tedbrogen]

Agreed. I’d definitely prioritize KPJ and Rollins over GTJ. They are two ways guys with a ton of upside. If you can keep GTJ without using the MLE, sure he’d be nice to keep around, but you can’t lose KPJ or Rollins in the process when they are young enough that they could be legit two ways starters in the future.

Zero chance you get Reid on the MLE. It would be great but I don’t see how the Wolves don’t easily match that.

If/when Reid declines his PO, he'll be unrestricted. Hasn't been a starter for them, like he'd be here. The Wolves already have the 2nd highest payroll in the league. Are a 2nd apron/tax heavy team. They've already been slashing payroll. It was a motive in the Towns trade. If Reid continues to not be a starter for them especially, I really doubt they're giving him 20m/yr. We can give him almost 16 over a 4 yr MLE contract.

I'm not saying I expect it, but it's plausible. Aldama's less likely with the Grizz' salary situation. But again, he's not been a starter for them. They're not that different than the status Bobby & Brook had when we signed them on far less than the MLE. Few teams will have cap space to compete above the MLE. They don't necessarily fit all their timelines. And the middle class in the league is continuing to shrink.

I mean, I’d be onboard with letting Brook and Bobby walk, signing either Aldama or Reid to the full MLE, re-signing Simms, telling KPJ to opt in and they take care of him next offseason, firing Prince into the sun, and retaining Rollins. If it’s possible to keep KPJ and Rollins if you blow the whole MLE on Aldama or Reid, is it?

Like that plus Kuz/PatC for Murray/26&27 swaps returned and you’ve Doc proof’s your roster by removing the three guys he played too much but shouldn’t have, get downside protection in case Giannis gets hurt or asks out, and surround Giannis with guys that actually make sense in the modern NBA. Murray’s injury was in January so maybe he is able to contribute some next season but even just removing Kuz is addition by subtraction, especially when Doc with keep running plays for that him. I’m really open to any Kuz trade.

[tedbrogen]

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.
- 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.

Agreed. I’d definitely prioritize KPJ and Rollins over GTJ. They are two ways guys with a ton of upside. If you can keep GTJ without using the MLE, sure he’d be nice to keep around, but you can’t lose KPJ or Rollins in the process when they are young enough that they could be legit two ways starters in the future.

Zero chance you get Reid on the MLE. It would be great but I don’t see how the Wolves don’t easily match that.

We have Early Bird rights on Rollins, no need to use an Exception on him.

What’s the most they can offer him? Not saying they should offer that, just curious the amount. Sportrac says there is a $2.8M QO they can offer him. But really they should lock him up for four years on the cheap if they can.

And I assume that they still have to ensure they stay below the first apron so they can use the full MLE.

Bucks project to be ~$28M below the first apron if Bobby, PatC, and KPJ all opted in. If Bobby and KPJ opt out, Bucks are ~$44M below the apron. $14M goes to the full MLE. $2M goes to the second round pick as they need a 13th rostered player although that is baked into the math above so don’t count it here. If you re-up Bobby at the equivalent of the full MLE that’s another $14M. Use the BAE on KPJ that’s another $5M. That leaves you with $11M to retain Sims (bird rights) and Rollins.

The alternative if you got a big on the MLE and were granted an injury exemption is to let Bobby walk and keep GTJ with the injury exception.

But it’s pretty clear, for flexibility you have to let Brook walk unless he’ll take a min salary. And you can’t do anything until you either release his cap hold or sign him to a smaller salary because he cap hold blocks you from using the MLE.

[ShootingtheJ]

Agreed. I’d definitely prioritize KPJ and Rollins over GTJ. They are two ways guys with a ton of upside. If you can keep GTJ without using the MLE, sure he’d be nice to keep around, but you can’t lose KPJ or Rollins in the process when they are young enough that they could be legit two ways starters in the future.

Zero chance you get Reid on the MLE. It would be great but I don’t see how the Wolves don’t easily match that.

If/when Reid declines his PO, he'll be unrestricted. Hasn't been a starter for them, like he'd be here. The Wolves already have the 2nd highest payroll in the league. Are a 2nd apron/tax heavy team. They've already been slashing payroll. It was a motive in the Towns trade. If Reid continues to not be a starter for them especially, I really doubt they're giving him 20m/yr. We can give him almost 16 over a 4 yr MLE contract.

I'm not saying I expect it, but it's plausible. Aldama's less likely with the Grizz' salary situation. But again, he's not been a starter for them. They're not that different than the status Bobby & Brook had when we signed them on far less than the MLE. Few teams will have cap space to compete above the MLE. They don't necessarily fit all their timelines. And the middle class in the league is continuing to shrink.

I mean, I’d be onboard with letting Brook and Bobby walk, signing either Aldama or Reid to the full MLE, re-signing Simms, telling KPJ to opt in and they take care of him next offseason, firing Prince into the sun, and retaining Rollins. If it’s possible to keep KPJ and Rollins if you blow the whole MLE on Aldama or Reid, is it?

Like that plus Kuz/PatC for Murray/26&27 swaps returned and you’ve Doc proof’s your roster by removing the three guys he played too much but shouldn’t have, get downside protection in case Giannis gets hurt or asks out, and surround Giannis with guys that actually make sense in the modern NBA. Murray’s injury was in January so maybe he is able to contribute some next season but even just removing Kuz is addition by subtraction, especially when Doc with keep running plays for that him. I’m really open to any Kuz trade.

I know most think KPJ will get a bigger deal, but I just don't see his market suddenly expanding. We can give him a raise over his opt in number through Non Bird rights ($2.8 million), and I'm guessing he takes that with a player option for injury protection. Then we can pay him next year with Early Bird rights.

[German Athens]

Agreed. I’d definitely prioritize KPJ and Rollins over GTJ. They are two ways guys with a ton of upside. If you can keep GTJ without using the MLE, sure he’d be nice to keep around, but you can’t lose KPJ or Rollins in the process when they are young enough that they could be legit two ways starters in the future.

Zero chance you get Reid on the MLE. It would be great but I don’t see how the Wolves don’t easily match that.

We have Early Bird rights on Rollins, no need to use an Exception on him.

What’s the most they can offer him? Not saying they should offer that, just curious the amount. Sportrac says there is a $2.8M QO they can offer him. But really they should lock him up for four years on the cheap if they can.

And I assume that they still have to ensure they stay below the first apron so they can use the full MLE.

Bucks project to be ~$28M below the first apron if Bobby, PatC, and KPJ all opted in. If Bobby and KPJ opt out, Bucks are ~$44M below the apron. $14M goes to the full MLE. $2M goes to the second round pick as they need a 13th rostered player although that is baked into the math above so don’t count it here. If you re-up Bobby at the equivalent of the full MLE that’s another $14M. Use the BAE on KPJ that’s another $5M. That leaves you with $11M to retain Sims (bird rights) and Rollins.

The alternative if you got a big on the MLE and were granted an injury exemption is to let Bobby walk and keep GTJ with the injury exception.

But it’s pretty clear, for flexibility you have to let Brook walk unless he’ll take a min salary. And you can’t do anything until you either release his cap hold or sign him to a smaller salary because he cap hold blocks you from using the MLE.

105% of the league average salary from the prior season, so it looks like starting at about 12.5m.

Then I think it’s 8% raises and a max of 4 years, so we could go up to 4/56.3m.

[ShootingtheJ]

Agreed. I’d definitely prioritize KPJ and Rollins over GTJ. They are two ways guys with a ton of upside. If you can keep GTJ without using the MLE, sure he’d be nice to keep around, but you can’t lose KPJ or Rollins in the process when they are young enough that they could be legit two ways starters in the future.

Zero chance you get Reid on the MLE. It would be great but I don’t see how the Wolves don’t easily match that.

We have Early Bird rights on Rollins, no need to use an Exception on him.

What’s the most they can offer him? Not saying they should offer that, just curious the amount. Sportrac says there is a $2.8M QO they can offer him. But really they should lock him up for four years on the cheap if they can.

And I assume that they still have to ensure they stay below the first apron so they can use the full MLE.

Bucks project to be ~$28M below the first apron if Bobby, PatC, and KPJ all opted in. If Bobby and KPJ opt out, Bucks are ~$44M below the apron. $14M goes to the full MLE. $2M goes to the second round pick as they need a 13th rostered player although that is baked into the math above so don’t count it here. If you re-up Bobby at the equivalent of the full MLE that’s another $14M. Use the BAE on KPJ that’s another $5M. That leaves you with $11M to retain Sims (bird rights) and Rollins.

The alternative if you got a big on the MLE and were granted an injury exemption is to let Bobby walk and keep GTJ with the injury exception.

But it’s pretty clear, for flexibility you have to let Brook walk unless he’ll take a min salary. And you can’t do anything until you either release his cap hold or sign him to a smaller salary because he cap hold blocks you from using the MLE.

The QO is just too make him a RFA. The Bucks can offer a 175% raise. With almost no cap space around the league, and numerous teams that can't even use exceptions, I don't see a team putting themselves on a 7 day waiting period by signing Rollins to a RFA offer to try to steal him.

A tight market is going to help us this offseason.

Edit: German Athens is right, the Bucks can do a 175% raise, or 105% of the league average salary, whichever is greater. In this case, the latter is significantly more.

[ShootingtheJ]

Looks like the Nuggets are headed for 2 apron hell. Trey Alexander will be a RFA after winning G League rookie of the year while on a 2 way deal. I'd like to steal him away. I'm pretty sure if we use a pinch of our MLE, we can sign him to an offer sheet slightly above the minimum, and they'd have no avenue to match.

Is this legal? It's never been done, but we're in a new era. Alexander shot the 3 great in the GLeagur and has switchable length. That's the kind of PG I like to pair with Giannis. He'd give us a 3rd option with KPJ and Rollins.

[German Athens]

Looks like the Nuggets are headed for 2 apron hell. Trey Alexander will be a RFA after winning G League rookie of the year while on a 2 way deal. I'd like to steal him away. I'm pretty sure if we use a pinch of our MLE, we can sign him to an offer sheet slightly above the minimum, and they'd have no avenue to match.

Is this legal? It's never been done, but we're in a new era. Alexander shot the 3 great in the GLeagur and has switchable length. That's the kind of PG I like to pair with Giannis. He'd give us a 3rd option with KPJ and Rollins.

Looks like his two-way contract was for 1 year, so I think we could offer him just like any other free agent.

[ShootingtheJ]

Looks like the Nuggets are headed for 2 apron hell. Trey Alexander will be a RFA after winning G League rookie of the year while on a 2 way deal. I'd like to steal him away. I'm pretty sure if we use a pinch of our MLE, we can sign him to an offer sheet slightly above the minimum, and they'd have no avenue to match.

Is this legal? It's never been done, but we're in a new era. Alexander shot the 3 great in the GLeagur and has switchable length. That's the kind of PG I like to pair with Giannis. He'd give us a 3rd option with KPJ and Rollins.

Looks like his two-way contract was for 1 year, so I think we could offer him just like any other free agent.

Sure, but 2 way players become RFAs.

[Bernman]

We have Early Bird rights on Rollins, no need to use an Exception on Rollins.

I know. But I'm speaking to levels of disappointment if we miss out on them. And regardless, you don't have an unlimited amount of $, unless you want to deal w/ the 2nd apron/a ton of luxury tax again. They just made a bad trade to, in part, get out of that.

[ShootingtheJ]

Lots of Cavs players had career years under Atkinson, but the one that saw his role shrink was Isaac Okoro, as Atkinson prioritized offense over defense. With the Cavs impending apron pains, I wouldn't be surprised if the Cavs gave Okoro away. We could absorb him in to our MLE, and have enough left to make a RFA offer to Trey Alexander. Okoro is still just 24.

[German Athens]

Looks like the Nuggets are headed for 2 apron hell. Trey Alexander will be a RFA after winning G League rookie of the year while on a 2 way deal. I'd like to steal him away. I'm pretty sure if we use a pinch of our MLE, we can sign him to an offer sheet slightly above the minimum, and they'd have no avenue to match.

Is this legal? It's never been done, but we're in a new era. Alexander shot the 3 great in the GLeagur and has switchable length. That's the kind of PG I like to pair with Giannis. He'd give us a 3rd option with KPJ and Rollins.

Looks like his two-way contract was for 1 year, so I think we could offer him just like any other free agent.

Sure, but 2 way players become RFAs.

Gottcha, good call.

Looks like the QO could be 200k over league min, but I don’t know what they’d be able to offer him beyond that.

[ShootingtheJ]

We have Early Bird rights on Rollins, no need to use an Exception on Rollins.

I know. But I'm speaking to levels of disappointment if we miss out on them. And regardless, you don't have an unlimited amount of $, unless you want to deal w/ the 2nd apron/a ton of luxury tax again. They just made a bad trade to, in part, get out of that.

I agree that we need to hold the line on every contract we can until Dame's albatross is off our necks.

Also agree on cutting the cord with Lopez. We should have shot the drop defense into the sun years ago. That's not a playoff defense, it's just a tool to beat up on bad teams

[yb90]

Lots of Cavs players had career years under Atkinson, but the one that saw his role shrink was Isaac Okoro, as Atkinson prioritized offense over defense. With the Cavs impending apron pains, I wouldn't be surprised if the Cavs gave Okoro away. We could absorb him in to our MLE, and have enough left to make a RFA offer to Trey Alexander. Okoro is still just 24.

He would be a guy I'd also like the Bucks to go after. He can defend 1-3 and some small ball 4s. Plus, the Giannis affect seems to be a real thing for players. He could be a more trusted version of what AJax provided.

[BUCKnation]

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.

Dieng looked really good in that game against the Herd (Bucks). Interesting prospect there

[Karsenmitsche]

If the Bucks can manage to keep Trent/KPJ/Green/Rollins there's a real core of young guys that fit well around Giannis.

With how cheap that core (and presumably BP) is. Path to contention in 2027 is possible with all of that cap space, a young core, 3 tradeable 1sts and a new coach.

[MickeyDavis]

I don't see Trent returning