The 2014 first overall pick would be a nice fit in Milwaukee.
With free agency kicking off in a bit over 30 hours, let’s round up some relevant Bucks rumors coming across the wires this weekend. We’ll start with players who aren’t currently with the team, who perhaps might join via trade or signing, and the first one is a name longtime Bucks fans have long thought about: Andrew Wiggins. Since going first overall in the 2014 draft to Cleveland (traded not long after to Minnesota), he’s been a what-if story. Had Milwaukee won the lottery that season instead of finishing second and taking Jabari Parker, whose promising career was sadly derailed by two catastrophic knee injuries, they likely would have taken the 2015 Rookie of the Year. What might have been!
Since then, he hasn’t been a star, but he had a huge NBA Finals in 2022 with Golden State and earned himself a much more reasonable contract, after his rookie scale extension at the max ended up pretty unfavorable. That made him a long-discussed trade chip for the Dubs, and sure enough, he found himself on the move to Miami in the Jimmy Butler trade. He was a solid fit with Miami, posting 19.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 3.3 APG on .458/.360/.731 shooting—typical production for him. But the Heat are always star-hunting, and while they missed (like they usually do) on Kevin Durant, Wiggins’ contract again looks very movable.
Enter the Bucks, who reportedly are interested in Wiggins, per ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel. Heat GM Pat Riley has apparently put Wiggins on the trade block, and the Bucks have “a level of interest.” It’s almost certain that to acquire the 30-year-old, Milwaukee would have to send out Kyle Kuzma in the same trade, either to Miami or elsewhere. Kuzma is five months younger than Wiggins, but there is obviously a gulf between the players, talent-wise.
So it comes down to the contracts in terms of gauging value. Each is signed for the next two seasons, but Wiggins can opt out before 2026–27 and hit free agency. While Kuzma may not have positive value on his current deal, he makes $42.8m over the next two years on declining salary ($22.4m in 2025–26 and $20.4 the following season) while Wiggins is due $58.4m ($28.2m and $30.2m, respectively). With that significant uptick in money, Miami would save a lot if this was a one-for-one deal, meaning it might not require Milwaukee to attach much draft compensation, if any at all. If the Bucks did this, they’d be taking back more money than they’re sending out, hard-capping them at the $195.9m first apron.
In terms of free agents who wouldn’t require a trade to come to (or stay in) Wisconsin, the Bucks are also sniffing around Sixers big man Guerschon Yabusele according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. The Frenchman came back to the states on a vet minimum last offseason on the heels of a huge performance in the Olympics, and we here at Brew Hoop have liked him as a future Buck since it became clear he belonged. Philadelphia can only give him a small Non-Bird raise on his minimum salary next year, and his production in his NBA return certainly merits a bigger raise. So they would need to use an exception to re-up him, just like any team that has no cap space, which is nearly every other team in the league.
Yabusele probably will command some or all of a team’s $14.1m full midlevel exception, which Milwaukee has access to, and certainly at least the $5.7m taxpayer portion of it. The problem is that then Milwaukee wouldn’t be able to use some or all of that exception to re-sign Gary Trent Jr. or Kevin Porter Jr., both of whom the Bucks only have Non-Bird rights on—same situation as Philly is in with Yabu. They also have the $5.1m biannual exception, so a world exists where they can split the full MLE between two of these three and then give the other the BAE, it’s just not very likely.
Today is the day Bobby Portis must decide whether to opt into his $13.4m salary for 2025–26 or opt out and become a free agent. Should he do the latter and seek a salary the Bucks aren’t willing to pay, Yabu would be a great replacement. While he’s a couple inches shorter, he’s beefier and a much better defender than Portis and would fit well alongside Giannis in the frontcourt with his switchability. He’s no slouch on the other end either, notching 11.0 PPG last season on .501/.380/.725 shooting.
As far as Portis goes, Fischer also mentioned yesterday that he’s generating “a considerable amount of curiosity leaguewide” as he weighs the option decision. Fischer believes Portis would go to the top of the midlevel market if he opts out, and as we’ve previewed, the MLE is what he’d be able to get from essentially every team. Milwaukee has his Bird rights, though, allowing them to go beyond that $14.1m first-year starting salary. With Naz Reid signing a new five-year, $25m deal with the Wolves on Friday, Portis appears to be licking his fingers, if his social media is any indication. Reid is several years younger than Portis, but they are very similar players in terms of on-court production and role, so I’d bet Portis is hoping for at least $20m in year one of his next contract.
That might be what happens, but Fischer thinks that the Bucks will be able to bring him back and get him to pick up his option:
My latest intel surrounding longtime Bucks forward Bobby Portis suggests Milwaukee is well-placed to retain the fan favorite. That scenario would almost certainly entail Portis declining his player option Sunday and striking a multi-year agreement with the Bucks in a similar manner to what we saw Friday night when Naz Reid and Minnesota re-upped their partnership.
A couple more notes: Fischer echoes speculation from others that Brook Lopez will not return to Milwaukee:
Perhaps the most established center headed for the open market is the ring-winning Brook Lopez. Two summers ago, you’ll recall, both San Antonio and Houston pursued Lopez aggressively before the Bucks successfully convinced him to re-sign. This time around, however, numerous rival teams are bracing for the center-craving Los Angeles Lakers to make a run at luring Lopez away from the Bucks. Even if the Lakers plan to address their center void by pursuing Atlanta’s Clint Capela instead or perhaps a target not as frequently discussed, there is a growing belief Lopez will indeed be on the move next week after a highly successful seven-season stint alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo.
I’ve heard that Lopez didn’t enjoy his first stint with LA, so they might have to overpay him to entice him to return with their full MLE. That could cause some first apron issues for the Lakers. And finally, Kevin Porter Jr. officially declined his 2025–26 player option yesterday and is now a free agent.