
All the talk is, and will be, about the man who has carried the Milwaukee Bucks franchise for the past decade, to relevance, to a championship, and now to a crossroads.
But Giannis Antetokounmpo isn't the only Bucks player who could be moved this offseason, even if that is all that will get attention -- and most of what new coach Taylor Jenkins will be questioned about as he meets the media this week. Does Giannis want to be a Buck still? Are you expecting him to sign an extension, to prove that? And what happens if he doesn't?
These are questions, of course, that Jenkins will likely deflect, for while he certainly was briefed on the Bucks' options prior to taking the job, ultimately it is GM Jon Horst who will decide along with ownership if it is time to go an entirely different direction.
But let's remove Giannis from this particular exercise.
Naturally, his contract would net the Bucks the most in trade, even if he's coming off an injury-plagued season, with concerning calf injuries, and he's 31 years old with more than $120 million still due. There could be a half-dozen or more teams trying to be prying the superstar away -- unless Antetokounmpo essentially eliminates them by making it known that he won't sign an extension following that trade. So at the least, the Bucks will almost certainly get a sizable haul of young players, draft picks and pick swaps for the former league and Finals MVP.
But what are the values of the Bucks' other contracts on the books?
We rank five of the more notable ones, from most to least attractive to potential suitors:
While he was snubbed in Most Improved Player voting, NBA teams know what kind of season Ryan Rollins had. The guard doubled his minutes and tripled his scoring average from the season prior, and looks to have found a home at age 23. After Giannis, he's the next player that many teams will request, since he's due just $4 million this season, with a playof option to follow -- which he will likely opt out of. A contending team might value Rollins as a cheap, reliable, at times dynamic rotational guard option (who shoots 40 percent from three-point range), who can then be re-signed after the season.
While it didn't translate to a lot of winning, Kyle Kuzma quietly had an efficient scoring season in a reduced role. His minutes were down, and he came off the bench some, but he shot 49 percent from the floor in averaging 13 points. He also has championship experience and, at age 31, still a couple of more effective years left. But teams will likely like that he only has one year left on his contract, at $20 million, with that expiration providing cap space following the season for a projected solid 2027 free agent class.
More than a decade into his career, Bobby Porter Jr. can still shoot it -- and he's never shot it better than he did this past season, at least from behind the arc (45.6%). That skill is valuable, as is Porter Jr.'s voice, but he may no longer if the Bucks pivot to more youth. His next two seasons are affordable, a total of $30 million, and it's that second second (into 2027-28) that makes him a bit less attractive than Kuzma.
Now on his fourth NBA team, Porter Jr. just put up his best numbers for the team that initially drafted and traded him. He made 36 starts, and produced roughly 17 points, five rebounds and seven assists per game. Those statistics are seemingly worth a lot more than the $5.4 million that Porter will make next season, the last of his current contract. But, if the Bucks look to move him, teams may be reluctant to offer much, because of questions about his prior off-the-court issues and the other challenges he encountered before fitting in Milwaukee. He may be worth more to the Bucks than anyone else -- if he stays with the program as he did this season.
Well, it made -- some -- sense at the time. The Bucks were looking for a floor spacing center to take pressure off Giannis, so they waived-and-stretched the injured Damian Lillard, and then signed Myles Turner away from the NBA champion Pacers. It didn't work out so well. Turner was OK when Giannis played, but did little to lift Milwaukee when the franchise player was out. He shot a career-worst 44 percent overall, and averaged just 5.3 rebounds, continuing a downward trend in the latter category. And he's due $83 million the next three seasons. At this point, the Bucks would likely need to attach an asset to move him... and they don't have all that many of those.
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