Claim from Bucks' shot-caller sends trade-hungry fans back to the drawing board

It's not far-fetched to say that Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst is among the most active front office leaders across the NBA.

Whether he's making a blockbuster trade to acquire Damian Lillard or making a smaller move to patch one of the team's roster holes, such as the free agent signing of Delon Wright, he's always doing his homework. That made it unsurprising when Yahoo Sports' NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Bucks were gauging Brook Lopez's value around the league in trade discussions.

With Lopez being a coveted asset around the league and questions about how well the big man might fit under Doc Rivers, it made sense to at least test the market. This rumor sent Bucks fans to the trade machine to try and find deals that could benefit the team. However, Horst recently made it clear that he unquestionably plans on keeping Brook Lopez in green for the foreseeable future.

Speaking in an interview with The Athletic's Eric Nehm (subscription required), Horst stated that there are teams with interest in Lopez but that he has not had any real conversations about moving the big man elsewhere. In fact, he said that he hopes Lopez, who has certainly been a crucial cog of what the Milwaukee Bucks have achieved over the past several years, retires in Milwaukee.

Where the Milwaukee Bucks go from here

With Lopez off the table, the Bucks won't be making any blockbuster trades in the near future, as his $23 million salary would have been vital to do so. However, that does not mean the Bucks are done as far as trades go, as they do still have some valuable assets on this roster. Any deal would simply have to be smaller due to the second apron restrictions the Milwaukee Bucks are battling.

Bobby Portis is the top asset the Bucks have after Lopez, and while his $12.6 million salary would be useful in a trade, it feels like they may opt to keep their frontcourt depth intact by holding onto him. Again, the second apron takes away the ability for the Bucks to combine salaries in trades, and there aren't many players who could be swapped for Portis directly while upgrading the Bucks roster.

That shifts attention to Pat Connaughton. With a $9.4 million salary in 2024-25, the guard has a very tradeable salary that could help Milwaukee net an impact role player in return. As evidenced by their countless offseason moves to bulk up their wing depth, there are questions about Connaughton's future with the Milwaukee Bucks. He's the likeliest Buck to be traded at this point.

Only time will tell if the Bucks do make a trade this offseason. If they do, Brook Lopez will seemingly not be involved, so fans will have to delete those mock trade packages.

Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.