There are still a few days until the close of trading, which expires on February 10 at 10:00 p.m. Greek time. The 30 NBA teams have a few more days to reach their goals. Some will try to empty their rosters, either to cut their salaries or to build something new. Some will try to meet their needs and others, with the playoffs in the background and a championship vision, will try to shake the waters.

What will the Milwaukee Bucks do? What is your salary situation like? What are their needs and which players can be used as bait for a trade that will increase their level? Is there a case for a PJ Tucker swap? What are GM John Horst’s thoughts? The answers are simple. They have no flexibility on the salary cap, they definitely need a big one, they have players that don’t count, they don’t rule out an upset, and they’re willing to hit the yes button if one of them is on their team sights available. Let’s look at the situation in detail to understand what will happen in the coming days.

The financial/salary data

With the $136,606,000 luxury tax, the Bucks haven’t just come close, they’ve surpassed it, standing at $156,903,892 for the season. They’ve paid players who aren’t on their list (Larry Saunders, John Lowry, DeMarcus Cousins, Justin Robinson), the luxury taxes they’ll pay are estimated at +$46 million, but that doesn’t mean they’re looking for ways seek to limit them the damage. They’re willing to do anything as long as they can find a player or players to help them claim the replay with better odds.

The fact is that once they are above the luxury tax they don’t have the flexibility, they don’t have many options given the trade deadline. For a player to fit on his payroll, his salary should not significantly exceed the salary of the person leaving Milwaukee.

For example, if they give a player $10 million, they can get back a player with a salary up to $11,250,000. You can, of course, give a player 10 million for someone with a minimum contract and save a large sum in luxury taxes, although such a scenario does not offer much chance. Who will “make” the bucks and how many are these cases that can really improve the Deer squad? Few and even less meaningful.

needs and priorities

Championship teams, whether we’re talking about the NBA or the EuroLeague, always know one) their needs, b) their priority and c) what is available on the market. The Bucks went into the season with a full roster, but Brooke Lopez’s problem (who only played in one game, in the premiere with the Nets) confused the situation, hampered planning, and put the organization in a special position.

With Lopez no longer in action, Mike Budenholzer is pleased with Bobby Portis’ decision to remain in Milwaukee. We’ve said and written dozens of times that Bobby is the perfect big man for a team of this level because he can play in both 4’s and 5’s, either as a starter or as a substitute. With 14.9 points, 40% on 3-pointers, 9.2 rebounds per 28.8 minutes, he’s the best year of his career this year, but with Lopez out, the Bucks will need a different body.

In Milwaukee, they tried DeMarcus Cousins, but the experiment didn’t work for more than one reason. They tried additional players (Javin DeLorie, Luke Cornet, Greg Monroe) to see if Sandro Mamukelasville had the package to offer, but the reality is clear. Antetokunbo and Portis fight alone and getting a center is the priority of the team, who ideally want notable rim protection with above-average shots from the periphery.

With 14 guaranteed contracts (John and Thanassis Antetokunbo, Middleton, Holiday, Lopez, Conaton, DiVincenzo, Portis, Allen, Hill, Hood, Ozelege, Nuora, Matthews), the Bucks have an open position and at least some because they can even come with B .a 1-for-1 or 2-for-2 swap, keep a spot to cover later after recent releases. Traditionally, veteran athletes have a day off at the end of the regular season, so the organization’s agents can find a player there too who offers a little more.

Aside from the alternate height, there is no other significant need in Milwaukee. Upgrading the guards behind Jru Holliday would be important, but George Hill is a good solution, a safe bet if there’s no surprise.

The baits and the surprises

As strange as it may seem, the Bucks have flexibility in the rewards they can offer. And because there should be no emotion at the top level of the NBA, especially when it comes to the Bucks, who MUST HAVE titles in Giannis Antitokoumbo’s prolific years, we won’t be surprised if GM brings names to the negotiating table that do do not exist in the trading bloc .

What can these names be? Even Brooke Lopez’s. Even Grayson Allen’s. No, there’s not much of a chance this will happen, but such a possibility shouldn’t be ruled out, especially if there’s interest from teams like the Pacers looking to swap Miles Turner and her…half of the squad.

Lopez is revered in Milwaukee as the 34-year-old center made a huge contribution to the past few years and to winning last year’s title, Allen believes, and that’s why he was granted an early extension before the start of the season, but other than Holiday, Middleton and Antitokunbo is irreplaceable to anyone. Who is the most attractive player in the squad? Of course, Bobby Portis of $4.4 million this year and $4.6 million next year (option), but the Bucks just won’t give him.

If we want to talk on a more realistic basis, Dode DiVincenzo is the “good paper” held by the Bucks. Coming back from injury at 25, he’s a guard who can work in a similar role to Portis, either as a starter or a backup, he can score 15 points, rack up 6-7 rebounds, create and shoot well from the region is motivated because at the end of the season he will be an unrestricted free agent. The team that will acquire him, if of course the Bucks agree, will have the first reason to keep him at a better salary than he can find on the market, while his salary this year is only $4.7 million achieved. Giving him Milwaukee can get a player with a maximum salary of about $5.9 million.

An interesting case is that of Jordan Noora, who at 23 has not yet found the role he dreams of. Scorer, really talented in attack, in Milwaukee they call him Baby Middleton because he’s not athletic, he’s not long, he’s not explosive, but he knows how to put the ball in the basket. This year he has 8.2 points per 19.5 minutes but also has a contract of 1.5 million, which complicates the situation should Horst want to swap him out in a 1v1 situation.

If we give DiVincenzo, the Bucks don’t need to get a peripheral because if we assume they’re going to be healthy in the playoffs, they have Holiday – Hill on the ace, Allen on two, Middleton on three, Conaton – Noora – Matthews to 2 -3 . Additionally, Rodney Hood and Sammy Ozelege are not counted by Budenholzer. They haven’t gained his trust and since they’ve signed minimum contracts, it’s not hard to admit. It is important to leave a package as a supplement that upgrades the bucks. For example, if either player packs DiVincenzo for a player, then after the buyouts, Deer will open another slot on the roster to cover it.

In the mind of John Horst

We caught up with him in his office on Oct. 19 and asked if the Bucks would make a move this year…Pi Jay Tucker or Nikola Mirotic. John Horst hits the button before Trade Deadline, he’s not afraid to shuffle the deck and will do the same this year if there’s any prospect of the Bucks list improving.

“We will definitely take a step to meet our needs. Tucker was acquired because we saw a specific need during the season“We were told by the Bucks GM who kept saying this year’s team is better than last year but in a different way.

“The most important thing in this league is to adapt as you learn and mature and have more information. You have to be agile, and I think we will be agile when the opportunity arises to either get even better, or to meet some of our needs, or to achieve both. We will do it“Were the words of John Horst on Sportish, so it’s very easy to understand that these days the organization will … play ball, up to the last minute. By the deadline at 22:00 Greek time on February 10th.

Some possible / logical destinations

$13 million Robert Covington might be considered a big goal for the Bucks, but the Blazers didn’t wait and sent him to the Clippers. Covington would work perfectly in a matchup with Kevin Durand’s Nets, and perhaps the Bucks are looking for such a body for the very possible Brooklyn encounter. However, this is not their priority and we have already explained why.

211 cm Marvin Bagley is also an attractive player and the Bucks have… made deals with the kings even if Bogdan Bogdanovic’s substitution failed. Milwaukee likes the Pacers’ Miles Turner, but he has many admirers, the Wizards’ Montreal Harrell (9.7 million) would be a good move, but Washington has a hard time saying yes to a deal with a team from the same area , The Thunder’s Mike Mascala is a more reasonable case as he has a low contract, shoots very well from the periphery and can generally act as an extra large. We’ve mentioned him many times as an ideal pick for Milwaukee, but somehow he keeps coming back to Oklahoma City.

The Bucks need a third high for crushing with the top of the region (mainly for crushing with Joel Ebid), Robin Lopez could be a solution if cleared by Magic, Yusuf Nurkic sounds like a distant target but ends up In By the end of the season he will be vacant, the Blazers will start rebuilding and would rather hand him over to an Eastern team, forward Thad Young is unlikely to stay with Spurs and – theoretically at least – he can play a role similar to PJ Tucker, in simple terms , there are options for Deer and there are conditions to strengthen the squad even further.