This Milwaukee Bucks are in the midst of an offseason that could be a turning point in their franchise’s history. All-Star point guard Damian Lillard he has a guaranteed contract for another year, although he has a player option for the 2025-26 NBA season. With that being said, how well the Bucks play and how far they go this season could determine whether the Bucks choose this option or not.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee’s best player and the best pick in the NBA draft, has a contract for another two years with a guarantee. He previously stated that as long as the Bucks are committed to winning, he will remain committed to playing in Milwaukee. Since he already went through a rebuild when he was first drafted by the Bucks, he has no desire to go through it again.
The Milwaukee Bucks will retain their best players Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard
Unfortunately, neither Lillard nor Giannis were vigorous following the Bucks’ first-round loss to the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Playoffs. Khris Middleton played the entire series, but he wasn’t 100%. In fact, Giannis, Lillard and Middleton played a total of six games together after Doc Rivers took over as head coach.
However, with injuries to their stars, it became clear to everyone that Milwaukee’s supporting cast was not good enough to facilitate Giannis, Lillard and Middleton win an NBA championship. Some of these players, like Jae Crowder and Malik Beasley, will leave as free agents.
Due to Milwaukee’s status as a team that is in the NBA’s luxury tax zone two, they cannot sign any free agents other than those willing to accept the veteran’s minimum salary. They are also constrained in the transactions they will be able to make. The Bucks cannot accept higher salaries than what they are posting.
This means that if they want to acquire a valuable player on the transfer market, they will have to give up one or more of their key supporting players in return.
Milwaukee Bucks open to trading Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton
Both Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton were on the Bucks team when they won the 2021 NBA Finals, but it seems like they could trade one or both of them to facilitate them in the next one.
Jake Fischer z Yahoo Sports recently reported:
“The Bucks continue to be a team worth considering on the trade market, with Milwaukee landing Tyler Smith as a potential center of the future with the No. 33 pick in the second round on Thursday.
-Perhaps Smith could help replace Brook Lopez as soon as this season if Milwaukee does indeed part with their experienced center, who is soon entering the final year of his contract. Pat Connaughton AND Bobby Portis“Names of candidates are still being mentioned in the context of trade, sources said.”
Recently, there were rumors that Lopez is one of the transfer targets of San Antonio Spurs.
As for Portis and Connaughton, both are valuable members of the Bucks bench. However, they have not shown that value in the postseason over the past two years. It makes sense that the Bucks would be willing to move on from either of them.
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