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Bucks Rumors: Ersan Ilyasova, Tony Snell on Trade Block, MIL Offering Picks
June 17, 2019
The Milwaukee Bucks are looking to unload some salaries heading into Thursday’s NBA draft.
According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Bucks are "offering draft compensation this week in hopes of finding a team willing to take on the contract of Tony Snell or Ersan Ilyasova via trade" so they can "create added flexibility to retain" their spot atop the Eastern Conference after finishing with the league's best record.
Snell is under contract for the upcoming season for more than $11.3 million in base salary and has a player option for the 2020-21 campaign that is worth north of $12 million. Ilyasova is under contract for $7 million in base salary for the upcoming season, but his deal is not guaranteed beyond that.
That Milwaukee is looking to add flexibility at this stage of the offseason is no surprise considering Khris Middleton has a player option for the 2019-20 campaign and can become a free agent.
Middleton is just 27 years old and coming off his first All-Star campaign that saw him average 18.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists a night while shooting 37.8 percent from three-point range as the No. 2 option alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo. He figures to command a head-turning offer this offseason, and moving Snell or Ilyasova would put the Bucks in a better position to re-sign him and look to the future.
Elsewhere, Brook Lopez is an unrestricted free agent this offseason after he established himself as an outside shooter in Milwaukee's rotation and hit 36.5 percent of his triples as a matchup problem.
There's also the looming question of Antetokounmpo, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2020-21 campaign. He is arguably the best player in the league and will undoubtedly require a maximum contract in the future, which is something the Bucks front office has to constantly balance while making other decisions.
Teams probably aren't looking to do the Bucks any favors after their breakout campaign in 2018-19, but the possibility to add draft capital may just convince one of them to take Snell or Ilyasova.