Chicago Bulls: Grading the Central Division’s First Round
Milwaukee Bucks: C+
After making the Western Conference Finals and coming off the best record in the NBA at 60-22, the Bucks only action on draft day was trading the No. 30 overall pick that became Kevin Porter Jr. for the Cavs and acquiring Jon Leuer from the Pistons.
The moves did provide the Bucks massive savings in contract money to keep Khris Middleton so factoring that into their thinking, one can understand why Milwaukee didn’t make a splash. Middleton declined his player option to command a four-year max deal from the Bucks.
Milwaukee could create up to $14M in room and bring back Brook Lopez using cap space. The $22M+ in cap holds of Malcolm Brogdon and Khris Middleton give Milwaukee an advantage when it comes to creating room. It also gives them a buffer when it comes to the tax.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) June 20, 2019
The Bucks fell to the eventual NBA Champion Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals so bringing back most of that team is the primary concern.
Signing Middleton, role players Malcolm Brogdon and Brook Lopez after signing Bledsoe to a four-year deal is essential to pleasing franchise star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
They could have attempted to keep their first-round pick for insurance in case they leave but with some of the spending money they have, they’ll be able to sign a free agent worst-case scenario. It wouldn’t be hard selling me on playing with Giannis.
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With those key players potentially hitting the market and teams bidding for their players, the Bucks are focused on getting a jump start on free agency.