Milwaukee can acquire a player making up to $7.2m without giving back a player in return
Though the trade the Bucks made centering on exchanging Khris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma at February’s deadline didn’t result in much for the team on-court, it gave them some needed flexibility for this offseason by dropping them under the second apron above the luxury tax. But there’s a less focused-on aspect of the move that could come in handy this summer too: the deal created a trade exception of $7,210,606, which amounts to the difference in salary between the two players last season. Alongside their midlevel and biannual exceptions, it’s another tool for GM Jon Horst to bring in new talent to the Bucks without needing to shed salary while doing so.
A trade exception, in the sense of the term we’re using here, can be used to acquire existing contracts from other teams without having to match salaries. So the Bucks can trade for someone making $7.2m and not need to send their trade partner any salary at all. A team has to give something up in the deal, but it need not be valuable. Typically, a trade exception is utilized when a team trades solely draft picks for a new player. But they could also send cash considerations (a $7.3m limit in 2024–25, not counted against the cap) or draft rights to a player who has never played in the NBA or won’t ever.
Currently, Milwaukee only has three available second-round picks to trade, including tonight’s 47th selection. One (Utah’s 2026 second-rounder) is already top-55 protected and unlikely to convey, so no loss there; their other is in 2031, and if they put top-55 protection on it, that wouldn’t be worth much to trade partners. They can also trade their 2031 first-round pick, and as of last night, they can also trade their 2032 first-round pick. After tonight, their 2032 second-rounder is available to trade too. Finally, the Bucks still hold rights to two foreign players from the 2012 and 2015 drafts. Even those “assets” can be useful to swap for a current NBA player whose contract is so unfavorable that it devalues them.
Of course, there are some caveats to the exception. For one, it cannot be used on free agents unless said free agent is coming on a sign-and-trade from his previous team. It can’t be combined with any other exceptions to acquire a player, nor can the exception itself be traded. However, it can be combined with others in a larger deal as long as any given trade exception is used on only one player. For example, an over-the-cap team couldn’t trade a player making $9m for three who each make $5m due to salary matching rules, but if the team has a trade exception for $6m, they could use it on one of the three. Then they could use part of their midlevel exception (as of the 2023 CBA, you can use that to trade for players, not just sign free agents) to acquire another. The final $5m player is essentially acquired in exchange for the $9m player, thus making the trade legal.
Milwaukee technically also has three smaller exceptions—none more than $2.1m—from trading each of Delon Wright and AJ Johnson in that trade with Washington and New York, plus one from the Kevin Porter Jr.-MarJon Beauchamp swap, which are too small to be earnestly used (they aren’t needed to acquire minimum salaried players). But they can’t combine any of the smaller ones with the $7.2m exception, so forget about using all their trade exceptions on a player making $13m. They also don’t need to use all of it in one transaction and can save whatever part of it remains after using it in one trade for another in the future. All four of their exceptions may be utilized between now and next February 6th, the one-year anniversary of their deadline trades becoming official.
With all that out of the way, let’s look at a dozen candidates for the biggest exception, in descending order by salary:
Kenrich Williams, wing, Thunder – $7.2m, one year left plus 2026–27 team option
While he’s one of the longest-tenured members of the Thunder, Williams didn’t play much as his franchise marched to their first NBA title in Oklahoma, seeing mostly garbage time minutes across all four of their series, though he did make it into all seven games in the NBA Finals. He’ll turn 31 in December and does a little bit of everything; he typically shoots at least 37% from deep, he’s a solid defender, grabs a decent bit of rebounds, and has good assist numbers for a player his size. He’s been surpassed in OKC’s rotation in recent seasons, but that seems to be less about him getting worse and more about players like Jalen Williams and Aaron Wiggins getting better. A jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none would be a good addition to Milwaukee’s arsenal at the three and four, perhaps in free agent-to-be Taurean Prince’s role. At this point, I don’t think he’d fetch more than a single future second.
Jevon Carter, guard, Bulls – $6.8m, one year left
Our old friend is one of those devalued players I mentioned earlier, having just picked up his final-year player option. While we were all happy to see Carter get paid in summer 2023, Chicago just… stopped playing him. He saw his playing time wane in year one as a Bull with seven DNP-CDs in the final month. Then he only appeared in 38 contests last year, getting passed by Ayo Dosunmu and Dalen Terry in the rotation behind Coby White. Josh Giddey also came to town, Lonzo Ball returned, and Tre Jones joined the deadline. All those guys but Jones are under contract for next year, so Carter is pretty buried. But for good reason, as his shooting percentages fell precipitously from his halcyon Bucks days. You know what you’re getting in Bulldog, and perhaps a Milwaukee return brings with it the sensational point-of-attack defense the team desperately missed after he left. Since this would be pure salary relief for Chicago, he wouldn’t require surrendering a real draft asset.
Ousmane Dieng, big, Thunder – $6.7m, one year left
The Frenchman saw even fewer minutes in OKC’s Finals run after just 37 games in the regular season, where he averaged just 10.9 MPG, in line with his first two seasons in the league. I’m not sure how much more the Thunder are going to develop him, even though he went 11th overall in 2022, since they seem to prefer the cheaper Jaylin Williams (wow, OKC has three Williamses!) in the few minutes when neither Isaiah Hartenstein nor Chet Holmgren man the five. Dieng has plenty of length, if not heft, and has at least shown a willingness to shoot threes, though he’s under 30% for his career. He’d be something of a flier at this point, perhaps if the Bucks are unable to retain Jericho Sims, and probably would only merit a second-rounder or two in return.
Dean Wade, big, Cavaliers – $6.6m, one year left
Cleveland is in a bind: with just nine guaranteed salaries, they are about $2.8m over the $207.8m second apron and can only use minimum contracts to fill out their roster. That nonet includes this 28-year-old forward, whose salary for 2025–26 isn’t fully guaranteed until January, so he is reportedly on their trade block. The former Kansas State Wildcat developed from two-way signee to important role player throughout his six years as a Cav; a stretch big who can defend a little as well. Though his 3P% dipped to 36% this year on 3.8 attempts per game, he converted at a 39.1% clip on similar volume a year before. He’d be a great replacement for Prince’s shooting, and potentially could supplant Bobby Portis’ frontcourt role if the longtime Buck moves on this summer. I’m sure the Cavs would be happy to acquire no salary in return for Wade to help them get beneath the second apron, but they probably would want a couple seconds for him at least.
Ochai Agbaji, wing, Raptors – $6.4m, one year left
A 2022 national champion at Kansas, Agbaji was actually born in Milwaukee, though raised primarily in Kansas City. After bouncing from Utah to Toronto in his first two seasons, he really seemed to put something together in 2024–25, setting career highs in FG% at 49.8%, 3P% at 39.9%, scoring at 10.4 PPG, and rebounding at 3.8 RPG. He’s developing into a strong defender on the perimeter too, even guarding up the positional spectrum on guys like Giannis and LeBron James. The Raptors appear to be star-hunting this offseason and may even want to add someone on the wing next to Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram, so Agbaji could likely be had, perhaps as part of a larger deal. But he won’t come too cheap, and I think a future first would be an overpay.
John Konchar, wing, Grizzlies – $6.2m, two years left
With two years left on his contract and paltry stats in his limited minutes, Memphis may have to attach assets (say a second-round pick or two) to get off the remaining $12.3m on his deal. That could be a good bit of business for Milwaukee, picking up another second for use in a future trade, and they won’t have to give up much at all to take on his suboptimal deal. Maybe one of their two future seconds with top-55 protection, the not-very-valuable Utah 2026 second, unused draft rights, or cash considerations. Konchar is 29 and was a productive role player a couple years ago, so there might be something left in the tank, but he’s probably just depth.
Haywood Highsmith, wing, Heat – $5.6m, one year left
Damian Lillard reportedly tried to recruit Highsmith to Milwaukee on a vet minimum last summer, but he opted to take a raise and remain in Miami. He started alongside Jimmy Butler in the Heat frontcourt until the star was traded, but even after being usurped by Andrew Wiggins, the defensive ace set career highs in all counting stats while maintaining a .458/.382/,721 shooting line. He would also fill the void that a Prince exit might create, and he’s probably the better perimeter defender of the two at 28. I would prefer him to Williams, but unlike him, Highsmith would take more seconds.
Kris Dunn, guard, Clippers – $5.4m, two years left
Dunn is now 31, and rejuvenated his career in Utah two seasons ago after being largely out of the league from 2020 to 2023. While he’s never been a scorer and is a mediocre shooter at best, he remains one of the better point-of-attack defenders in the league and is just a year-and-a-half older than Carter at a cheaper price. Though he’s being paid on this deal until he turns 33, the reasonable price tag mitigates a less-than-ideal length. He started 58 of his 74 games for LA last year, so I’m sure they’d like to hang onto him. Milwaukee might have to give up more than they’d like to land this particular opposing guard stopper—multiple seconds at least.
Dalen Terry, wing, Bulls – $5.4m, one year left
About to turn 23, the former 18th overall pick has steadily picked up more playing time over his three years in Chicago while improving his scoring output and three-point shooting. His 6’7”, 195-pound frame and seven-foot wingspan project as someone who could become a quality NBA defender, even if it’s only visible in spurts right now. While I don’t necessarily see a future starter, there has to be some untapped potential here. Terry’s team option for 2025–26 would have to be picked up as part of a trade, and probably could be had for a second or two.
Jake LaRavia, wing, Kings – $5.2m, one year left
Memphis decided not to pick up the fourth-year team option on the 2022 first-round pick’s rookie scale deal, something GM Zach Kleiman later admitted was a mistake. When that decision was made, you could see the logic as he’d only made it into 35 contests in each of his first two seasons, and he shot the ball poorly. However, LaRavia looked great in his 66 games this year between the Grizzlies and Kings, where he was shipped as Kleiman got out of Marcus Smart’s contract. With .475 and .423 splits from the floor, the 23-year-old should be in line for a long-term deal as a now-unrestricted free agent. Milwaukee could acquire him in a sign-and-trade from Sacramento, who owns his Bird rights, to sign him to a deal starting at up to $7.2m. That would preserve their midlevel exception for someone else.
Malaki Branham, guard, Spurs – $5.0m, one year left
The 20th overall pick in 2022 from Ohio State bounced in and out of San Antonio’s rotation this year as Chris Paul and De’Aaron Fox came to town, plus Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle’s ascendance. Though Paul won’t be back, the Spurs took another ball-dominant guard last night in Dylan Harper, so Branham will still be fighting for minutes if he isn’t moved. That seems likely as San Antonio tries to bolster their roster and make their first postseason appearance of the Victor Wembanyama era. While his per-game averages fell across the board as his minutes dropped from nearly 1600 in each of his first two years to under 500, he notched career bests from the floor and downtown (40.5%). Also only 22, the Akron native (attended the same high school as LeBron) may not have reached his ceiling, and wouldn’t require a big outlay to acquire.
Cam Whitmore, wing, Rockets – $3.5m, one year left plus 2026–27 team option
This might be the most exciting name here. After falling out of the lottery in 2023 for some reason, Whitmore played only parts of two seasons (47 and 51 games) in Houston but looked the part of his projected draft position down the stretch of his rookie year. He won’t be legally able to drink until July 8th and will slide even further down the Rockets’ depth chart after trading for Kevin Durant. Somehow, they didn’t have to give Whitmore, Jabari Smith Jr., or Tari Eason up in that deal. Eason seems to be their preferred option backing up at either forward spot behind Smith and now KD, plus Amen Thompson has the size for the three and four himself. Whitmore should definitely be gettable, and there are still some around the league who see a future All-Star in the Villanova alum, while others see a role player at best. That makes it difficult to pin down his trade value, but I could see Houston only accepting a future first-round pick for him.
What do you think the Bucks will have to give up to acquire these players? Or are there any other names out there you like for under $7.2m, and what would it take to land them? Feel free to let us know in the comments.