Milwaukee Bucks Rumors: Tony Snell could earn up to $13 million a year

The Milwaukee Bucks reportedly won’t have it all their own way when Tony Snell hits restricted free agency in a couple of weeks.

While the Milwaukee Bucks await Greg Monroe‘s decision on his player option for next year before Thursday’s deadline, they’ll face even greater uncertainty over their other big name impending free agent this summer.

Although as a restricted free agent the Bucks will have the right to match offers on Tony Snell, it’s impossible for them to know whether that will be something they can realistically afford to do until the market opens and Snell’s agent’s phone starts ringing.

Coming off the back of a strong season following his trade from the Chicago Bulls, and a very impressive playoff showing against the Toronto Raptors, it seemed likely that there’d be some interest in the 25-year-old.

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Still, it’s possible that Bucks fans and the organization itself may have underestimated just how much.

On a recent episode of his podcast over at the Vertical, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo spoke with former NBA exec Bobby Marks about the free agent landscape, and Snell was one of the players noted for their intriguing situation.

As Wojnarowski explained:

"“One more restricted free agent that I keep hearing teams talk about is Tony Snell in Milwaukee. You know, he got out from under in Chicago, had a productive year, and started to scratch the surface, I think, of his potential with the Bucks this year. I think he shot over 40 [percent] from three, and you saw him grow more comfortable in their system.Again, that’s a position, that wing position and a player who can guard his position — as you know, Bobby, anybody who can consistently shoot the ball has value. I think it is not unreasonable based on conversations I’ve had around the league and in talking to some teams who may have some interest, I mean $11.5/$12.5 million.What teams realize they can do with Milwaukee is there comes a certain number when they have to go into the luxury tax to re-sign him. And it’s unclear to doubtful that that organisation wants to pay luxury tax, so unless they move around some other guys, maybe Tony Snell is a guy you can pluck away.You always have to overpay a little bit in free agency, and maybe even a little bit more in restricted free agency, but for him to walk away with a four-year, $50 million offer sheet with a player option or something after year three, I think that’s realistic for him.”"

The Minnesota Timberwolves were previously rumored to have an interest in Snell, with a possible reunion with former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau on the cards for the California native, but it may not end there.

A deal at $13 million would be toward the higher end of what the Bucks could realistically afford before getting dangerously close to the tax, particularly if they want to retain Monroe and add some other low-cost pieces to the back-end of their roster.

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With Jabari Parker and Khris Middleton both missing considerable time last season, Snell became an important cog in the Bucks’ starting lineup last year. If they were to lose Snell, it wouldn’t be a simple process to find a capable and affordable replacement for next season.

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