Hoops Rumors is checking in on the 2026 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, recapping the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll take a look at each team’s offseason moves and consider what might still be coming before the regular season begins. Today, we’re focusing on the Milwaukee Bucks.
Free agent signings
- Gary Trent Jr.: Four years, $64,000,000. Fully guaranteed. Re-signed using Bird rights.
- Ousmane Dieng: Three years, $17,250,000. Third-year team option. Re-signed using Bird rights.
- Pete Nance: Two years, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed. Re-signed using minimum salary exception. Waived right to veto trade.
- John Butler Jr.: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 9/10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
Trades
- Acquired the draft rights to Malique Lewis (No. 60 pick) from the Wizards in a three-team trade in exchange for cash ($1.25MM; to Magic).
- Acquired Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kaspars Jakucionisthe draft rights to Nate Ament (No. 13 pick), the Heat’s 2031 first-round pick, the Heat’s 2033 first-round pick, the Heat’s 2033 second-round pick, and the right to swap 2030 first-round picks from the Heat in exchange for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis.
- Acquired Caris LeVertthe Bucks’ 2027 second-round pick, and either the Mavericks’ or Nets’ second-round pick (whichever is least favorable) from the Pistons and cash ($1.1MM) from the Clippers in a six-team trade in exchange for Taurean Prince (to Pistons) and Gary Harris (to Pistons).
Draft picks
- 1-10: Brayden Burries
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $29,213,493). First two years guaranteed. Third- and fourth-year team options.
- 1-13: Nate Ament
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $25,980,074). First two years guaranteed. Third- and fourth-year team options.
- 2-60: Malique Lewis
Two-way signings
Note: The Bucks carried over Cormac Ryan on a two-way contract from 2025/26.
Departed/unsigned free agents
Other roster moves
- Signed 2025 second-round pick Bogoljub Markovic to a four-year, $9,264,648 contract using the second-round pick exception. Second year partially guaranteed ($1,147,185). Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
Salary cap situation
Note: Figures are rounded to one decimal place.
- Operating over the cap ($165MM) and below the first tax apron ($209MM).
- Hard-capped at first apron.
- Team salary: $190.3MM (tax); $195.1MM (apron).
- Below luxury tax line by $10.1MM; below hard cap by $13.9MM.
- Full non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($15MM) and full bi-annual exception ($5.5MM) available.
- Two traded player exceptions available (largest worth $25.5MM).
The offseason so far
Games, minutes played, field goals, points, rebounds, assists, blocks, triple-doubles. Those are among the many categories in which Giannis Antetokounmpo is the Bucks’ all-time leader.
After being selected 15th overall in the 2013 draft, Antetokounmpo developed into one of the greatest players in NBA history in his 13 seasons in Milwaukee, winning back-to-back MVP awards in 2019 and 2020 and helping the team win its first championship in 50 years in 2021.
However, the Bucks were unable to recapture that postseason success in subsequent years, losing in the second round to Boston in 2022 and then suffering three consecutive first-round exits leading up to the 2025 offseason.
Milwaukee reportedly discussed a potential Antetokoumpo trade with New York last summer, but those talks never advanced, and the team kept the 31-year-old into 2025/26. A series of injuries derailed Antetokounmpo’s season, and despite rampant speculation ahead of the February trade deadline, the Bucks once again retained the superstar forward heading into the offseason.
The relationship between the Bucks and Antetokounmpo began to show more serious signs of fraying during the final months of the season. The superstar forward bristled at the fact that co-owner Wes Edens told ESPN the club intended to either extend or trade him, then clashed with the organization over its handling of his knee injury — Giannis felt he was healthy enough to return to action and the Bucks disagreed, prompting the NBA to investigate the matter (the team was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing).
With Antetokounmpo set to enter the final guaranteed year of his current contract, it became clear after Milwaukee’s season ended that resolution would be coming sooner rather than later. Giannis reportedly conveyed to the team that he thought it was in both sides’ best interests to go their separate ways, and the Bucks’ other co-owner, Jimmy Haslamstated in May that the club viewed the draft as the unofficial deadline to resolve the situation. Sure enough, Milwaukee finalized a trade agreement with the Heat less than 24 hours before the first round got underway; the blockbuster deal was formally completed on July 6.
In exchange for Antetokounmpo and veteran big man Bobby Portisanother fan favorite, Milwaukee received Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kaspars Jakucionisthe draft rights to Nate Ament (No. 13 pick), the Heat’s unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, Miami’s 2033 second-round pick, and the right to swap 2030 first-round picks with the Heat.
Ament (via Miami) was the second player the Bucks drafted in June, with the first being former Arizona guard Brayden Burriesone of the standouts of the Las Vegas Summer League in July. They also added forward Malique Lewis with the final pick of the second round — he’ll continue his career in Australia.
The Bucks continued to stockpile assets in a six-team trade in which they sent Taurean Prince and Gary Harris to Detroit for Caris LeVert and two second-round picks. They also received $1.1MM in cash in that deal from the Clippers, nearly the same amount they sent out ($1.25MM) to acquire Lewis with the 60th pick in a separate transaction.
Milwaukee entered the offseason with several free agents. The team stunningly re-signed Gary Trent Jr. to a four-year, $64MM contract after a disappointing season, prompting a league investigation into the suspicious circumstances of that deal. The Bucks also brought back trade deadline acquisition Ousmane Dieng on a three-year, $17.25MM deal and re-signed Pete Nance to a two-year, minimum-salary contract that’s non-guaranteed.
Other additions included 2025 second-rounder Bogoljub Markovic on a four-year standard contract; Kam Jones on a two-way deal; and John Butler on a training camp agreement.
Antetokounmpo’s older brother Thanasis Antetokounmpo and his younger brother Alex Antetokounmpo were on last season’s roster, but they’re headed back to Greece to continue their careers. 2023 second-rounder Andre Jackson Jr. is another departure, having agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with Toronto.
Lastly, it’s worth noting that the Bucks parted ways with Doc Rivers this offseason, having hired Taylor Jenkins to be their new head coach. Jenkins, formerly the top coach in Memphis, is an ex-Bucks assistant.
Up next
The Bucks are hard-capped at the first tax apron and currently sit $13.9MM below that threshold. They’re also $10.1MM below the luxury tax line.
Both of those figures are worth remembering, as the Bucks have multiple cap exceptions to make future roster moves. They still have their full non-taxpayer mid-level ($15MM) and bi-annual ($5.1MM) exceptions available, plus two traded player exceptions. The first TPE is only worth $86K and can’t realistically be used, but the second, which was created in the Antetokounmpo deal, is worth a whopping $25.5MM.
While Milwaukee has an open two-way spot, the standard roster is crowded at the moment. Even if the Bucks waive Nance and Butler, they still project to have to cut a player owed guaranteed money unless they’re able to find a consolidation trade before the season begins. Jericho Sims or LeVert could end up being the odd man out if no additional moves are made.
Herro (veteran) and Jaquez (rookie scale) are the team’s primary extension candidates. Herro, a 2025 All-Star, will be extension-eligible throughout the 2026/27 league year, whereas Jaquez’s extension window will close on October 19.
For what it’s worth, Milwaukee native Herro publicly said he’s “not really worried” about a new deal.
I’d be a little surprised if the Bucks extend either player this offseason, because it could make it more difficult to trade them down the line. They’re both valuable in different ways, but it’s hard to know how the team views them or whether they’re in the club’s long-term plans.
That’s true of most of Milwaukee’s roster, with the exception of Burries and Ament. Maybe Ryan Rollins belongs in that small group of keepers too, but I’m not convinced he would — or should — be off the table if the Bucks are blown away by a trade offer.
I’m sure the Bucks would love to move off the contracts of Myles Turner and Kyle Kuzmabut Turner still has three years left on his deal and Kuzma likely has negative value even though he’s on an expiring contract.
The $90MM in dead money owed to Damian Lillard over the next four years and $64MM owed to Trent over that same span will make it a little more challenging for the Bucks to accelerate their rebuild in the coming seasons. Still, they added much-needed young talent and draft assets by trading Antetokounmpo, and will be going down a starkly different path after consistently making win-now moves for the last several years.