The Bucks’ books are about to open up in a big way.
Milwaukee has spent the summer remaking both its roster and its cap sheet after trading Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the effects are already showing up in the numbers. For all the change around the team, one expensive reminder of the previous era is still hanging around: Damian Lillard’s cap hit.
It sits at $21.3 million for the next four seasons, and unlike Milwaukee’s other major contracts, it can’t be moved. That alone will keep a firm hand on the Bucks’ spending power.
Right now, Milwaukee has $168.3 million in player contracts owed to the 17 players under contract for the 2026-27 season, though the roster still needs some finalizing. Add in the dead cap for Lillard, plus Vasilije Micic on a much smaller scale, and the Bucks are carrying $190 million on the books for the coming season.
That puts them in an awkward but manageable spot: above the $164 million salary cap, yet still $10 million below the luxury tax line. They’re also hard-capped at the first apron because of the transactions they’ve already made this summer. In plain English, that means the Bucks probably won’t finish the year in the tax and basically cannot cross into the first apron, leaving around $14 million as the most they could add to their books this season.
Milwaukee had more breathing room before the Gary Trent Jr. deal added $15.2 million for this season, but the Bucks still have one of the league’s most useful tools: a pile of expiring contracts. Those deals are easy to move if the front office needs to make room, whether that’s for a trade, a sign-and-trade, or some other move that requires salary matching.
And the real payoff comes later.
By the time the 2027-28 season rolls around, Milwaukee’s salary picture looks much cleaner. Only three Bucks are projected to make eight figures that year: Myles Turner at $27.8 million, Gary Trent Jr. at $16.4 million, and A.J.
Green at $10 million. Even with Lillard’s dead money still on the books, the team salary is projected to be about $57 million under the cap.
That kind of space is enough to matter. It’s roughly the equivalent of one max contract slot, though any extensions or new deals for current players would cut into it.
Ryan Rollins is the biggest name to watch on that front. He’s expected to opt out of his $4 million player option before the 2027-28 season in search of a bigger payday. The Bucks can’t extend him this season because of CBA rules, so that decision gets pushed to the summer of 2027.
Milwaukee could move sooner with extensions for Herro, Kuzma, or Jaquez Jr., but the team hasn’t shown any urgency to lock those players up before seeing at least part of the 2026-27 season unfold. Unless one of them blows the doors off, waiting keeps the Bucks in the best possible position.
The front office would still have options either way. Milwaukee would hold bird rights on all three veterans, giving the team the leverage to bring them back. It could also renounce their cap holds, open up a significant amount of cap space, and still keep Rollins’ smaller cap hold on the books so he could be re-signed later using bird rights.
For now, it’s impossible to say exactly what the Bucks will do next summer. But Jon Horst should have the financial flexibility to chase whichever route he thinks can get Milwaukee back to winning ways. That remains true until the Bucks make one of the sign-and-trade moves they’ve been connected to in recent weeks.
In Other News...
Bucks Just Put More Pressure On Caris LeVert Than Ever
The Bucks latest move brought more than just another name into the rotation picture. In swapping out Gary Harris and Taurean Prince, Milwaukee picked up Caris LeVerts contract and, just as important, added two second-round draft picks to the mix. It was a clean piece of business on the surface, the kind of trade that gives a front office some flexibility even if the basketball fit still has to be sorted out.
LeVerts recent play has been trending down, which is exactly why this deal now carries a little extra weight for Milwaukee. The Bucks are getting draft value no matter how his production looks, but they will still want something usable from him on the floor, especially with the other side of the transaction showing more of a reset than a blockbuster. The Bulls, meanwhile, took on Nicolas Claxtons contract without any extra picks, banking on a change of scenery to help him rebound. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Fans Will Have To Wait For Giannis Emotional Return
Giannis Antetokounmpos return to the Bucks is already circled on the schedule, but Milwaukee fans will have to sit with the anticipation a little longer. The 2026-27 slate now features two nationally televised matchups against his new team in Miami and back in Milwaukee, giving the reunion a built-in spotlight and a reminder of just how much the franchise has changed since the trade.
The first meeting comes in Miami on November 18, while the more emotional stop is set for a late-January trip to Fiserv Forum on Amazon Prime. For Bucks fans, that home date will carry the real weight, because it will be the first time they get to see Antetokounmpo back in Milwaukee since he was dealt to the Heat in June. [Read more 🡒]