The Milwaukee Bucks were eliminated from the NBA Playoffs when they lost Game 6 on the road against the Indiana Pacers by a final score of 120-98 against the Indiana Pacers. With the loss, this is the second straight season that the Bucks have lost in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
There will be a lot of questions as to what the Bucks will do next during the NBA offseason. Milwaukee has an older roster and they will need to do fixing. Giannis Antetokounmpo did not play in this series against the Pacers because of a calf injury and it may have been different if he played.
Damian Lillard also missed some games in this series against Indiana because of an injury as well. This will be a fascinating offseason because there will be so many trade rumors. Another thing that might come across is will Doc Rivers be back as the head coach in 2024-2025? They performed much better when Adrian Griffin Jr. was the head coach rather than Rivers.
They have not been back to the Eastern Conference Finals since winning the NBA Championship in 2020-2021 against the Phoenix Suns in six games. With possible questions about the roster, who are some players that could be traded away during the offseason?
Brook Lopez Could Be the Trade Chip the Milwaukee Bucks Trade Away After the Indiana Pacers Series
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard are not going anywhere next season. They will be the ones that this basketball team needs to build around. Lopez has been a good NBA player, but the Milwaukee Bucks need to get younger around the rim,
He will be owed $23 million next season, according to Spotrac. Lopez has one year remaining on his contract. If nothing else, it would shed salary with this trade. Brook Lopez is 36 years old.
Khris Middleton
Middleton had a great series for the Bucks against the Pacers and it was one of the reasons why they even had a chance to begin with. However, we all know that the NBA is a business. Khris Middleton had more injury issues this season.
He is 32 years old and will have a cap hit north of $31 million next season with a player option the season after. If Milwaukee traded him now, they could get something decent in return for him.
Pat Connaughton
Other than Bobby Portis Jr., the Milwaukee Bucks bench struggled this season. Pat Connaughton is 31 years old and averaged 5.6 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 2.6 APG last season. They will need to find a true backup point guard for Damian Lillard as they struggled at that position without him on the floor this season.
There will be many roster changes. Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley, and Danilo Gallinari will be free agents and they probably won’t be brought back. Connaughton will have a cap hit north of $9 million next season, according to Spotrac, and will also have a player option the season after. Pat Connaughton is another player that general manager Jon Horst could use in a trade.
