For the first time in a while, the Bucks have some young players other teams might want.
Continuing our NBA trade deadline—just 17 days away!—coverage, we’re going to flip things a bit today: instead of looking at who the Bucks could trade for, let’s look at who they could trade away. Unlike in previous seasons, Milwaukee actually has some young, cheap talent who could potentially fetch something good in any deal. Of course, for a team like the Bucks, that means it’s a better idea to hang onto such players, but if the right offer comes along, they should listen.
Before we dive in, here is a quick summary of the Bucks’ current situation. As of now, their team salary exceeds the second apron above the luxury tax. They face a number of restrictions as a result, but the most pertinent is that if they were to aggregate players’ salaries—meaning they put multiple guys together in order to acquire someone who makes more than any of those players individually—in a trade, they would be hard-capped at the second apron. That means that at the end of the trade, their team salary needs to be beneath $188.9m, factoring in unlikely benefits (like those in Khris Middleton’s contract), and they couldn’t surpass that number between now and June 30th. They also are way beyond the first apron above the luxury tax, which means they cannot acquire more than 100% of the salary they’re trading away.
You can find out more about the Bucks’ current cap/apron situation, their available draft choices, and much more by checking out the team’s page at our friends SalarySwish. For this exercise, we’re not going to discuss the big three of Giannis (who would obviously top this list), Damian Lillard, and Khris Middleton (who would likely be necessary to acquire any large salaries) just because of how radically it would change this year’s team. Without further ado, here are the 20 (yes, they have 20 tradeable assets beyond the big three!) best trade assets Milwaukee currently possesses.
1. Milwaukee’s 2031 first-round pick
As I’ve said many times when discussing this pick, Giannis will be 37 years old by the time it is made on draft night in 2031, which sounds like a science fiction year. For that reason, teams will want this more than anything the Bucks have. Back in September, CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn named the Bucks’ traded 2029 first-rounder (currently the property of either Portland or Washington) as the most valuable traded future draft choice in the league and their 2027 first-rounder (property of New Orleans) as the fourth-most valuable. That’s predicated on a view some have that Milwaukee will be well out of contention by then, which is debatable, but there is probably an even better chance they will be by 2031 if Giannis is still even playing NBA basketball. So this pick is probably even more valuable, and I’d only trade this pick for a bonafide young star. Who would that be? Not sure. Is he even available? Probably not.
2. AJ Green
As one of the NBA’s leading three-point shooters (currently eighth) at age 25 with some on-ball defensive ability, AJG is likely the most intriguing young Buck to rivals. He also makes just $2.1m this year, so while that salary isn’t going to fetch more than a minimum player in return, he could be the key outgoing piece alongside any salary matching for a trade partner. Green is extension eligible this summer for a starting salary of up to $18.9m in the first year of a contract lasting up to five seasons. That eligibility could carry over to a new team but at a lesser dollar figure and length. Regardless, any team would like to have a sweet-shooting guard with some two-way ability on the cheap. He just wouldn’t be in a trade by himself since he makes so little.
3. Brook Lopez
Let me be clear here: the Bucks should not trade Brook Lopez. He’s basically as good on defense as he’s ever been (when not playing the Knicks), and his shooting numbers remain great too. His $23m expiring salary, though, is what rivals might ask for or need to complete a trade within NBA rules. There are more than a few teams around the league who would like to have his rim protection in their frontcourt, but there are really no centers available who I could see being able to plug and play alongside Giannis while maintaining the Bucks’ current aptitude on both ends. This is simply too drastic of a change to entertain, especially since the Bucks’ defense is knocking on the door of or even inside the top 10, depending on where you get your stats.
4. Bobby Portis
At $12.6m this year, Portis’ salary is essentially an expiring one. He has a $13.4m player option for 2025–26, and with his performance to date this season, it looks pretty likely he’ll decline it in favor of hitting free agency for a new multi-year deal. We’re well aware of his drawbacks after so many years in Milwaukee, but with scoring and shooting numbers (13.5 PPG on .470/.374/.818) in line with previous campaigns, one could argue he’s underpaid for that production. Plus, his salary is in the exact range that fits as a matching component in so many trades. Any acquiring team would retain his Bird rights if he does opt out, so they could go over the cap to re-sign him if they like. By himself, he might be worth a late first-round pick or at least multiple seconds.
5. Andre Jackson Jr.
Ajax might be the team’s third-best young player, or he might be the best (depending on how you feel about Green and Ryan Rollins), and he has two years left at non-guaranteed salaries below the veteran’s minimum. Like Green, he’s too inexpensive by himself for his salary to take back anything above a minimum. Now that he’s been in Milwaukee’s starting lineup most of the year, he’s more of a known quantity around the league. With such scarce offense, he’s going to be viewed as a one-way player and perhaps not good enough to be the centerpiece young player that rebuilding teams prefer. But Jackson plus Green would be an attractive package for a trade partner that’s sending Milwaukee a quality starter.
6. Milwaukee’s 2031 second-round pick
This pick is far enough off that we have no idea where it will land, much like the 2031 first. By itself, it probably could fetch a decent enough rotation player; recall last year that the Bucks dealt their 2027 second-rounder alongside Cameron Payne for Patrick Beverley at the 2024 deadline. Including this pick alongside a player could probably bring back someone better earning a comparable salary. Perhaps we’ll see a similar deal this year where a minimum Buck like Delon Wright is traded for a minimum guy from another team who fits the team’s needs.
7. First-round pick re-swap in 2030
8. First-round pick re-swap in 2028
9. First-round pick re-swap in 2026
Yes, these three picks are promised to other teams (New Orleans and Portland) as a result of the 2020 Jrue Holiday and 2023 Damian Lillard trades, but Milwaukee can actually still include them in another deal. This is pretty rare, but it could happen. How it works is that the acquiring team would be able to swap their first-rounder in any of those years with whatever the Bucks end up with after their obligation to the Pelicans or Blazers is met.
As an example, let’s say in 2030 that New Orleans is in the lottery, then Milwaukee picks 18th and Portland picks 20th based on record. The Pelicans wouldn’t exercise their swap since they’d want to keep their pick, but the Blazers could move up two spots. The worst-case scenario is that Milwaukee is a lottery team while the other two are in the playoffs, moving Milwaukee down potentially many spots and robbing them of a high pick, but if Milwaukee has the best record among the three, nothing changes hands. With a second added layer, a re-swap is less likely to convey to the acquiring team and is worth less than your usual pick swap. They’d also be worth less to trade partners because they have little value as chips in future trades (unlike second-rounders, which are better as trade chips than actual draft choices) because sending out a re-swap of a re-swap dilutes their scant value even further.
10. Ryan Rollins
While it doesn’t happen often, two-way contracts can be traded (Milwaukee native Reece Beekman was involved in last month’s Dennis Schröder trade, going from Golden State to Brooklyn), but don’t amount to any outgoing or incoming salary since they have no cap hit. That could be a blessing or a curse in a trade, but for a promising, productive two-way player like Rollins, it’s more of a blessing. He wouldn’t help Milwaukee take back additional salary, or indeed any salary, which is why he isn’t higher on the list. But he’d make for a nice sweetener.
11. AJ Johnson
Johnson has gotten into just five games for the Bucks and played only 11 minutes. That’s not surprising, given the makeup of this team, his status as a project player, and the fact that he just turned 20 last month. He’s put up decent G League numbers in 17 games with the Herd, but he’s not necessarily turning heads. That’s all fine, but it doesn’t make for a super attractive trade piece right now since his value is all based on potential, which is there. Maybe other teams will be more interested a year from now, but he’s probably equivalent in value to a good second-round pick (i.e., likely to be in the 30s) right now.
12. Gary Trent Jr.
13. Taurean Prince
14. Delon Wright
Grouping these guys together, though still ranking them in order of desirability, because they’re all on vet minimum deals. Minimum contracts may have sneaky value this deadline with so many teams in close proximity to either the first or second apron. Any team could acquire these guys with the minimum salary exception and wouldn’t need to worry about salary matching unless they’re up against a hard cap. But they could still be used to match salary if necessary. As mentioned when discussing the 2031 second, packaging that pick with any of them could net the Bucks an upgrade, though I imagine they have no designs on trading GTJ or Prince since they’ve been such productive members of the rotation.
15. Tyler Smith
The 2024 second-rounder has played 27 more minutes than Johnson, but his G Leauge numbers are about the same. He still profiles as a productive rotation player who hits threes and hauls in boards; it’s just several years away—if he ever gets there. He’s the lowest-paid Buck on the standard roster at the rookie minimum of $1.2m (with up to three seasons remaining after this one), so he has essentially no salary-matching value on his own. At best, he is a throw-in to any deal that needs some extra cash to make it legal. He’s too raw and more of an idea than an NBA player to be worth anything more.
16. Pat Connaughton
We’re now in the negative value portion of the list. Connaughton’s had a few solid games, but he’s easily the worst contract on the Bucks right now, with a player option for $9.4m next season, identical to his current year’s salary. That’s a stone-cold lock to be exercised, so what otherwise might be useful expiring salary now would need pick compensation—which the Bucks hardly have—paired with him for another team to agree. Trading a 2031 pick just to get off that money feels like a poor use of resources, and it will likely be easier to trade Connaughton this summer or next season when he’s actually expiring. Milwaukee could trade cash alongside him as long as it gets them beneath the second apron, but I doubt rivals would take on Connaughton’s contract, even for the maximum of $7.2m Milwaukee could include with him. The best hope is that he’s needed salary filler alongside positive assets (picks, a young guy, Portis) in a trade that brings back someone decent. I wouldn’t bank on it.
17. MarJon Beauchamp
The only reason Beauchamp isn’t lower on this list is that his $2.7m expiring salary could be handy in the right trade. After his fourth-year option was declined in October, the writing was on the wall for MJB and his time in Milwaukee, who’s failed to develop any playable NBA skills. On court, he holds little to no value and may struggle to see minutes even on tanking teams like Utah or Washington (whose young wings are simply better). Teams won’t give up real value for him—the best the Bucks could probably hope for is a top-55 protected second-round pick, likely to never convey—so it makes sense to see if he’s useful for salary matching leading up to the deadline. If he isn’t traded, the best course of action is to waive him, eating the cost and opening up a standard roster spot for Ryan Rollins or a buyout.
18. Chris Livingston
I suppose he isn’t negative value, but he’s essentially zero value because even Connaughton’s bad contract has salary-matching utility. Livingston has spent less time in the G League than Johnson and Smith this season, which sounds good until you realize it means he’s spent a lot of time riding Milwaukee’s bench (18 total NBA minutes this year). Teams just don’t give up any value for someone who went last overall two drafts ago. That means he has even less throw-in value, and he makes just $1.9m, so he won’t get them anything more than a minimum on his own. Again, the best they can hope for is that salary inches any trade into compliance with NBA rules.
19. Liam Robbins
20. Stanley Umude
The Bucks’ other two-way players are worth zero outgoing salary and have also proven nothing on an NBA court, so rivals won’t see any reason to acquire them. But they’re eligible to be traded, so here they are at the bottom of the list: the least valuable trade chips Milwaukee owns.
Any disagreements with this ranking? If you included Dame or Middleton, where would they rank? Feel free to chime in with a comment.