The 2025 NBA Trade Deadline, set for February 6, is creeping up, and the Milwaukee Bucks are likely in the market to make a move.
Recent games have exposed that this roster needs to shake things up and find some better-fitting pieces. The Bucks have a handful of players who could reasonably be on the move. However, if they stay in town when the deadline buzzer sounds, there's a good chance several players will not be on the team next season, whether it's due to free agency or other offseason moves.
That said, let us look at three players who will not make it in Milwaukee through this calendar year.
Pat Connaughton
Pat Connaughton had a good run as a key cog off Milwaukee's bench, but it was the right decision to pull him in favor of youth this season. The problem is that he's making $9.4 million this year and has a player option for the same figure next season. That's not chump change, especially for a team stuck in the second apron that cannot aggregate salaries in any possible trade.
Management will likely work tirelessly to move Connaughton's salary ahead of the trade deadline in an attempt to find a meaningful upgrade. If they cannot find a partner before February 6, they will be looking to move him once again this NBA offseason to clear that money off their books.
MarJon Beauchamp
Sometimes, a player just needs a change of scenery. A first-round pick in 2022, MarJon Beauchamp never found his footing with the Bucks, and with him being surpassed by both second-round picks and undrafted free agents in Milwaukee's pecking order, it's clear that he'd benefit from going to a team that can offer him more of an opportunity to spread his wings.
If the Bucks cannot find a Beauchamp trade partner before the deadline, he will inevitably walk in free agency this offseason, a move foreshadowed by the team declining his team option for the 2025-26 NBA season. If the Bucks could get anything in return for Beauchamp over the next month, that would be a major win. One way or another, he won't last all of 2025 in the 414.
Bobby Portis
It's becoming clear that the Milwaukee Bucks employing both Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis is not a winning formula these days. This team needs an infusion of athleticism and speed at the center spot, and they aren't getting that from either of these two. New reports signal that they are well aware of this issue plaguing them, so it wouldn't be surprising if they addressed it before the deadline.
Even if Bobby Portis is on the team beyond the deadline, he has a player option for next season, and it wouldn't be surprising if he opted to test the free agent waters. In that scenario, it simply wouldn't be a wise play to push all of their chips to the center of the table to retain him, especially if other teams are willing to spend more.
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