A month away from NBA trade deadline, what are the Milwaukee Bucks' options?
It is that time of year in the NBA when rosters are broken down, trends are extrapolated, transactions are prognosticated, and the ESPN trade machine has its bandwidth juiced up.
As a championship contender, the Milwaukee Bucks are not immune to the discussions of roster construction and potential changes. Let’s look at the roster and what options general manager Jon Horst may have going forward:
When is the NBA trade deadline?
The trade deadline is at 2 p.m. Feb. 8.
Since taking over the job in 2017, Horst typically has made his biggest moves in the offseason, but he has had made in-season moves via trade and free agency to bolster the roster:
George Hill (December 2018)
Nikola Mirotić (February 2019)
P.J. Tucker (March 2021)
Jevon Carter, DeAndre’ Bembry and Serge Ibaka (February 2022)
Jae Crowder (February 2023)
What is the Bucks’ salary cap situation?
They are over the salary cap and are a “second apron” team, though the luxury tax bills are just estimates until the team is finished playing.
New roster-building restrictions for tax apron teams were agreed to in the latest collective bargaining agreement, but the most severe penalties will not be applied until next season. So, the Bucks still have some financial flexibility for this trade deadline:
Team can take back more salary in a trade than it sends out, but only up to 110% of what is sent out.
Team can use cash in trades.
Team can aggregate players in an outgoing trade.
Can the Bucks sign a buyout player?
Yes, but there is a restriction due to their salary cap situation.
The Bucks cannot sign a player if his pre-waiver salary exceeds the non-taxpayer mid-level exception of $12.405 million. According to the salary-tracking web site www.spotrac.com, that restriction eliminates 118 players.
What draft picks can the Bucks trade?
They have no first-round picks to trade.
They can, however, continue to trade future first-round swaps. So even though they owe swaps to New Orleans (2024 and 2026) and Portland (2028 and 2030), teams can continue to just keep swapping their inevitable selection.
They can trade a 2024 second-round pick, via Portland. That currently projects as the No. 35 pick.
They can trade their own 2027 second-round pick.
More: The trade for Damian Lillard is an echo of past championship moves for the Milwaukee Bucks
Which Bucks players have trade restrictions?
Giannis Antetokounmpo cannot be traded before the deadline.
Brook Lopez cannot be traded until Jan. 15.
Bobby Portis has a 15% trade kicker.*
Jae Crowder has an implicit no-trade clause and must approve any trade that includes him.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo has an implicit no-trade clause and must approve any trade that includes him.
* The trade kicker value is based on his unearned base compensation on the remainder of the contract (minus any option year) on the day of a trade. So, if Portis is dealt, that amount is paid in full by the Bucks but is not included in the outgoing salary number. It does count for the incoming salary for the new team, but the Bucks would not get the benefit of the extra outgoing salary by paying off his trade kicker.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: NBA trade deadline 2024: Milwaukee Bucks options for its roster
