Milwaukee Bucks: Full roster breakdown heading into training camp

As media day and training camp for the Milwaukee Bucks is right around the corner, now’s as good of a time as any to take a step back and assess the roster as a whole. The Bucks made wholesale changes to their rotational players this offseason, bringing in a new group of skill sets and personalities in the hope of defending their championship.

Beyond the rotation players, the Bucks have also signed a couple of under-the-radar younger players to come in and compete for a roster spot in training camp. It will also serve as a potential tryout for the Wisconsin Herd, which is back this year with a new head coach in Chaisson Allen.

Although the Bucks offseason was a bit more subdued this year as opposed to the big swing they made for Jrue Holiday and nearly made for Bogdan Bogdanovic, this offseason wasn’t without its drama. The team let heart-and-soul P.J. Tucker walk to the Miami Heat and recently cut fan favorite Mamadi Diakite just days before camp begins.

But general manager Jon Horst is confident in the new group he has assembled, which is something you’d expect a GM to say about his team. But he believes that this is the team they’ve wanted to assemble and on paper, it looks like a good bet to repeat as champs. So let’s take a look at the 19-man roster that Horst has assembled.

Full Milwaukee Bucks roster breakdown heading into training camp

To make things easier, I’ll split the roster into three position groups: bigs, wings, and guards. I’ll also attach how long they have on their contract, salary cap hit for this season, and free agency status (all cap numbers courtesy of Spotrac).

Bigs

• Brook Lopez: two years remaining, $13.3 million, UFA.
• Giannis Antetokounmpo: five years remaining (player option for 2025-26), $39.3 million, UFA.
• Bobby Portis: two years remaining (player option for 2022-23), $4.3 million, UFA.
• Sandro Mamukelashvili: two-way contract, RFA.
• Semi Ojeleye: one year remaining, $1.66 million, UFA.
• Thanasis Antetokounmpo: two years remaining (player option in 2022-23), $1.7 million, UFA.
• Javin DeLaurier: Non-guaranteed training camp deal, $925K, RFA.

Wings

• Rodney Hood: one year remaining, $2.2 million, UFA.
• Georgios Kalaitzakis: three years remaining (two non-guaranteed), $925K ($462 guaranteed), RFA.
• Jordan Nwora: one year remaining, $1.5 million, RFA.
• Khris Middleton: three years remaining (player option in 2023-24), $35.5 million, UFA.
• Pat Connaughton: two years remaining (player option in 2022-23), $5.3 million, UFA.
• Grayson Allen: one year remaining (rookie extension eligible), $4.05 million, RFA.

Guards

• Donte DiVincenzo: one year remaining (rookie extension eligible), $4.7 million, RFA.
• George Hill: two years remaining, $4.0 million, UFA.
• Jrue Holiday: four years remaining (player option in 2024-25), $32.4 million, UFA.
• Elijah Bryant: one year remaining (non-guaranteed), $1.5 million, RFA.
• Justin Robinson: two-way contract, RFA.
• Tremont Waters: Exhibit 10 contract, $1.7 million, RFA.

I was slightly lenient on listing Ojeleye and Thanasis Antetokounmpo as bigs, but I expect them to primarily play at the four and, especially Ojeleye, fill the void that Tucker left of defending bigger wing players and helping the Bucks go small.

The strength of the team is the wing depth, which could also include DiVincenzo but he’ll also be asked to do a lot of ball-handling and guard-like duties. Middleton leads the way for the wings, but the depth with Allen, Connaughton, and Hood is very solid even if Hood’s health is a question mark. Nwora will hopefully see more rotational minutes this season, but that would have to come via injury or rest to Middleton.

That leads me to my favorite part about the roster which is the overall depth that can allow the Bucks to rest their star players like Middleton, Holiday, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. There is a multitude of options that head coach Mike Budenholzer could go to during the season in the event that the team takes an even heavier load management approach than they have in years past following a championship run and an Olympic gold medal run for Middleton and Holiday.

The roster also allows for some lineup flexibility, which is something that the team has prioritized now that they’ve embraced more schematic diversity with switching on defense, playing different styles on offense, etc. The Bucks still have the option of going small with Giannis at the five or playing a two-guard lineup with Holiday and Hill.

I’ve written about how I’m concerned with the depth in the frontcourt, even when you account for some of the minutes that Ojeleye will get. If the Bucks intend to rest Giannis and Lopez, there needs to be more than just Portis and an unproven Mamukelashvili to provide insurance. They got through it without much problem last year, but banking on two straight seasons of good luck is risky.

Overall, I’m very impressed with the roster that Horst has constructed with limited resources. The loss of Tucker will be felt, but this is a team built to win in a different way than last year’s group and I’m excited to see how it looks when the games matter.

The Milwaukee Bucks opening preseason contest is on October 5th against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum in Memphis.