Dame is gone. KPJ and GTJ are back. Myles Turner is coming to Milwaukee. Brook Lopez is headed to L.A. And Giannis hasn’t left. Wow. What a busy 144 hours.
Over six days this past week, via the draft and the opening of free agency, the Milwaukee Bucks’ front office has reshaped their roster. As Giannis Antetokounmpo’s prime years near their twilight (he’ll be 31 in December), it looks like we’re listening to the last gasp at putting a second ring on the fingers of this generation. He and Bobby Portis are the only guys remaining from the 2021 NBA Championship team.
Let’s recap what’s happened since June 26.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Two Serbians, zero Connaughtons, one Harris
The Bucks have greatly increased their number of Serbians this week. On the morning of June 26, the team had zero, but then drafted teenager Bogoljub Markovič with the 47th overall pick of the NBA Draft. Markovič is expected to continue playing in Europe for the time being, as the almost-7-footer develops. Mark Sears, a guard who played college ball for five years, was added post-draft as an undrafted free agent via a two-way deal.
Jumping quickly ahead to Tuesday, July 1, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that role playing guard Pat Connaughton was packaged with two future second-round picks to Charlotte for the second Serbian, Vasilije Micić. Micić doesn’t have a lot of NBA experience, but he’s more than $1M cheaper than Connaughton. Later in the day, veteran guard Gary Harris was signed as a free agent, per Shams, likely at the minimum wage for NBA veterans … a cool $3.6M per year.
Brook Lopez signs with the Clippers
This is a good deal for Lopez, probably. He’s 37 and wasn’t really expected back in Milwaukee. Getting paid $18 million across two seasons by the LA Clippers (as ESPN reported) could be the last contract for the beloved goofy 7-footer, but he’ll never be forgotten as the defensive anchor of Milwaukee’s championship – and someone who probably deserves at least one Defensive Player of the Year Award, even if the voters haven’t agreed. After the news broke, Antetokounmpo tweeted in support of Lopez’s jersey being retired at Fiserv Forum.
In his 469 games as a Buck, Lopez collected the second-most blocks, fourth-most three-pointers and highest career shooting percentage in team history.
Bobby, Bobby, Bobby
He’s the definition of a fan favorite. And he’s back, for $44 million spread across three years, according to Charania.
We’ll leave it up to the pundits if Portis should be viewed as 1) A necessary personality in the locker room, or 2) An on-court liability for his poor defense and streaky offense, or 3) Actually a uniquely strong piece.
KPJ will KP-Return
Kevin Porter Jr. had probably his best professional season in his 30 games with the Bucks in 2024-25, posting just shy a 14-4-4 statline. By the advanced metrics, he was at or near career highs with .163 win shares, 2.1 in Box Plus/Minus, and 0.6 Value Over Replacement Player. That said, his career thus far has been stop and start, most notably pleading guilty to a domestic violence charge in January 2024. He’s avoided off-the-court trouble since joining Milwaukee in October. He’ll average earning $5.25 million per year across two seasons, per the Journal Sentinel. Expect him to run the point.
Tuesday, July 1, Part 1: Myles Turner is a Buck
Indiana may be calling him a turncoat, but he is now our turncoat.
Myles Turner will be Milwaukee’s new big man, via a contract reported to be worth more than $100 million across four years. He’s 6-foot-11 and all muscle. He’s been an anchor of the Pacers since they drafted him 11th overall in 2015, which is part of why it was so surprising he’d join his longtime squad’s rivals in Milwaukee. He’s about as good of a 3-point sniper as Brook Lopez developed into, and he’s just as much of a problem for opposing offenses. He led the NBA in blocks in 2019 and 2021 (Lopez did that once) while averaging 15-18 points per game in each of the last three seasons. Turner is also 29, almost a decade younger than the center he’s replacing.
July 1, Part 2: Damian Lillard is gone
This one was the biggest shocker, perhaps of the entire NBA offseason. When Dame tore his Achilles in the playoffs this year, it doomed the already lackluster 2024-25 campaign.
There remained some hope (however fleeting) that he would be able to return by the 2026 playoffs and potentially give a fringe squad a spark. But with the big contract given to Turner, the Bucks needed some cap space. Minutes after reports broke of Turner signing with Milwaukee, it came out that Dame was out of a job.
Lillard may be able to return to playing form in 2026, but whether he’ll ever become one of the most dangerous scorers again is perhaps unlikely. He’s already 34, and the injury is of the variety that can permanently limit explosiveness.
Dame will be missed by Bucks fans, even if his stint here is best described as “disappointing,” in large part due to badly timed injuries. He and Giannis only played together in three total playoff games across the two seasons.
While it improves the team in the immediate term, insider Chris Haynes reported that Antetokounmpo wasn’t happy to see his star teammate cut.
GTJ to seek redemption
If I was general manager Jon Horst, when I opened contract negotiations with Gary Trent Jr., I would’ve told him, “We cannot allow your tenure with the Bucks to end like this.” GTJ was looking like the hero of Game 5 in the first round of the playoffs against the eventual Eastern Conference Champion Indiana Pacers. He made four threes in the fourth quarter and another four in the five-minute overtime period. But then, as the Bucks were trying to run out the clock to seal the overtime victory Trent’s sharpshooting had set up, he dropped a pass, fumbling it out of bounds, setting up one of Tyrese Haliburton’s miraculous buzzer-beaters to end Milwaukee’s season.
It looks like GTJ agrees with my fictionalized GM Horst, because he’s back on a team-friendly deal of $7.5 million across two years, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
Taurean Prince will also be back, on a two-year deal worth up to $7.1 million, reports The Athletic’s Sam Amick. Prince hasn’t averaged more than 10 points a game since the pandemic year but has been favored in coach Doc Rivers’s rotation. He averaged the fifth-most minutes per game on the team across 80 appearances last year, his first in Milwaukee.
Expected starters
PG: Kevin Porter Jr.
SG: Gary Trent Jr.
SF: Kyle Kuzma
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
C: Myles Turner
First off the bench: Bobby Portis, Taurean Prince and AJ Green
What’s next?
Kuzma may be the first one out here. Despite a couple nice performances after being acquired at last season’s deadline, he was negligible on court in the biggest games. He averaged fewer than 6 points per game in the playoffs in 2025. His aura (he’s engaged to a supermodel, Winnie Harlow) continues to be larger than his impact, even if he grades out as a plus defensively.
If the Bucks want to actually contend in 2026, he likely won’t be a starter late in the year – if he’s even still around for when the season tips off. Free agency is far from over. Kuz could be an interesting trade piece to go along with some future draft picks the Milwaukee front office is now able to shop around.
Coach Doc used the more-experienced Kuzma more than young Bucks Green and Trent down the stretch last season, but with a full season sample size, one might expect Dairy Bird and GTJ to get more minutes if they continue to produce and shoot at elite levels. But with the oft-confuddling Doc, nobody can know for sure.
FUN FACT: The Bucks still have juniors on their roster: Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr. and Andre Jackson Jr.
