The Milwaukee Bucks are still trying to finalize their roster for next season. They are reportedly pursuing free agents Peyton Watson, Jonathan Kuminga, and Bennedict Mathurin. Considering that they are in Year 1 of their post-Giannis Antetokounmpo rebuild, the Bucks' interest in talented, young players with upside makes sense.
While they are focused on potential additions, the Bucks also have to make difficult decisions about the players currently on the roster. Milwaukee has 17 players under contract. They need to cut that down to 15 players between now and the start of the season. This means that even if they don't add another free agent, they have to part ways with two players currently under contract.
Who are the potential candidates, and who are the two most likely players to leave Milwaukee in the next two months?
Predicting the two Bucks who will be the odd men out before the season
The Bucks have a plethora of options. They could be active in the trade market. Myles Turner, Kyle Kuzma, and Caris LeVert are all veterans who make over $14 million next season. They are not in Milwaukee's future plans. The problem is, at this point in the offseason, it will be difficult for the Bucks to trade their salary without taking any players back. Plus, if they had any intention of moving on from any of these players, they would have done so already.
There is a chance that the Bucks could buy Kuzma's or LeVert's contract. They are both on expiring deals. This would allow them to sign with a playoff team while giving the Bucks some breathing room, both financially and in terms of roster room.
Since the Bucks have a crowded backcourt, it makes sense to part ways with at least one guard. Kevin Porter Jr. is the most obvious option here. In a rotation that has Kasparas Jakucionis, Brayden Burries, Ryan Rollins, and Tyler Herro, there is simply no room for KPJ. He is on a reasonable salary of $5.3 million, which will expire next season. There should be teams willing to trade for him.
The other obvious candidate is Pete Nance. He is on a non-guaranteed deal that pays him $2.5 million for next season. The Bucks can easily waive him without having money on the books for next season. It's just that the Bucks don't have a ton of frontcourt depth and seem to like Nance as an emergency backup. They could perhaps bring him back on a two-way contract.
Jericho Sims and Bogoljub Markovic are also departure candidates. Sims is behind Myles Turner and Kel'el Ware in the rotation. They could try to see if they can get a second-round pick or two for him on the trade market. Since they just signed Markovic, it's unlikely that they would want to move on from the 21-year-old Serbian, but it shouldn't be ruled out entirely.
The Bucks have multiple ways of opening up a roster spot. As things stand now, I would choose Nance as the most likely player to leave. For the second spot, I'm between Kevin Porter Jr., Kuzma, and LeVert, but I will go with Porter Jr. since it seems like an easier trade to execute because of his salary.
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