GM: Wojtek Kowalik, @wojtek_kowalik1

Salary Cap: $176,699,631

Luxury Tax: -$26,432,631

GOAL: Title pursuit. Assess market for upgrades. Dangle mid-tier salaries like Grayson Allen, Joe Ingles, George Hill, Jordan Nwora, Pat Connaughton, etc. In search of versatile 3 & D players that can help you take the next step to championship contention

Priorities

• We already saw it in purported rumors that they were attempting to acquire Jae Crowder in a three-team deal for Grayson Allen + four second round picks, but try to acquire those 3&D guys that can play alongside Giannis

• Probably try acquiring a backup ball handler in addition to a bigger wing

• Trade target ball handlers:

o   Patty Mills
o   Terry Rozier would be a pretty sweet get for Milwaukee
• Grayson Allen, Ingles, George Hill, & a first round pick?
o   Coby White
o   Ish Smith
o   Cory Joseph
o   TJ McConnell
o   Devonte’ Graham
o   Derrick Rose/Immanuel Quickley
o   RJ Hampton
o   Jordan Clarkson

• Trade target wings:

o   Could Bogdan Bogdanovic finally make his way to Milwaukee? He’d be the perfect fit for them, as he can be the secondary creator next to Giannis and can play on the wing as well

• Grayson Allen would certainly be in the deal, so would Hawks take on next year’s money if they have tax problems coming up?

o   Justin Holiday
o   Joe Harris – would BKN want to shed some salary towards the tax next year?
o   Kelly Oubre Jr.
o   Alex Caruso (I feel like Caruso is every contender’s dream this deadline)
o   DeMar DeRozan to Milwaukee would be fun too
o   Derrick Jones Jr. for Nwora swap if Milwaukee wants to add athleticism?
o   Tim Hardaway Jr. or Reggie Bullock but I don’t know if Dallas will want to trade away a rotation guy without an upgrade
o   Alec Burks
o   Could the Bucks offer a lightly protected 2028 1st + Nwora to nab Saddiq Bey away from Detroit?
o   Eric Gordon/KJ Martin
o   Buddy Hield’s shooting next to Giannis would be a dream
o   Oshae Brissett
o   Luke Kennard/Robert Covington/Amir Coffey
o   Evan Fournier/Cam Reddish
o   Gary Harris/Terrence Ross
o   Jae Crowder/Cam Johnson
o   Gary Trent Jr.
o   Malik Beasley
o   Will Barton

• If possible, try to get a bit younger, as the core around Giannis is getting up there in age, but not at the expense of winning

Players to Dangle

Grayson Allen (2/$17)

o   Salary: $8,500,000

o   Can match up to $10,725,000 in a deal

o   This seems to be the guy the Bucks have been dangling in trade offers the most, probably mostly because of his salary

Pat Connaughton (4/$34.2)

o   Salary: $5,728,397

o   Can salary match up to $7,260,496

o   Just signed an extension, so odds are they don’t have plans to trade him, but if they needed the extra salary for a deal, I don’t think he’s completely off the table

Joe Ingles (1/$6.5)

o   Salary: $6,479,000

o   Can salary match up to $8,198,750

o   He’s far more likely to be added to a deal involving Allen for a higher priced guy than Connaughton is, but his shooting next to Giannis should prove to be pretty valuable once he gets his sea legs under him

George Hill (1/$4)

o   Salary: $4,000,000

o   Can match up to $5,100,000

o   They desperately need a backup ball handler, but those can always possibly be retained in the buyout market, so Hill can be thrown into a deal for salary purposes, which he may be the odd man out along with Grayson Allen.

Jordan Nwora (2/$6.2)

o   Salary: $3,000,000

o   Can match up to $3,850,000

o   He’s really the only young trade chip the Bucks have (maybe Allen too), and I expect teams to be interested. He’s definitely a sweetener for an asset poor franchise right now.

Assets Owned

• 2024 1st (NO has swap rights)
• 2026 1st (NO has swap rights)
• 2028 1st
• 2029 1st
• 2023 2nd
• 2023 2nd (less favorable of CLE and GSW)
• 2024 2nd
• 2024 POR 2nd
• 2025 IND 2nd
• 2027 2nd
• 2028 2nd
• 2029 2nd

Mock Trades to Date (Feb 2 Deadline)

Bucks add depth

TRADE: The Milwaukee Bucks trade Jordan Nwora and George Hill to the Charlotte Hornets for Cody Martin and Nick Richards

This was a cheap way for the Bucks to add wing depth. As I’ve reiterated countless times on the Bird Rights Podcast, there is no such thing as too much wing depth in today’s NBA. Here, the Bucks gave up Nwora and George Hill for Cody Martin and took on Nick Richards. They were able to retain all of their draft capital and are trying to make a subsequent move involving Grayson Allen and some of those picks. Hill is not a rotation player for Milwaukee at this point, and Nwora always felt like he was bound to be traded once he signed that contract this summer. Cody Martin, meanwhile, has two more years on his deal after this year with a non-guaranteed season in 2025-26 at a very manageable $7-$8.6 million per year. As long as the Bucks are competitors, they seem willing to pay the tax, and if things change, Martin has a very tradeable contract. 

For Charlotte, they get Cody Martin off their books. They also get a 1.5 year flier on Jordan Nwora, who fits in well with their core. This deal saved the Hornets at least over $16 million in long-term committed money. While Charlotte could’ve pushed for some sort of draft capital, they’ve already added multiple picks through other trades and were content getting off the money.