With the regular season drawing closer, the Milwaukee Bucks are staring at a roster squeeze that almost certainly ends with two players gone. They currently sit at 17 standard players, and one of the names most likely to be squeezed out is Pete Nance.
That possibility comes down to simple math. Nance is on a non-guaranteed contract, which makes him the easiest cut on the board.
In his latest piece, The Athletic’s Eric Nehm noted that moving on from Nance would leave the Bucks about $13 million below the NBA’s luxury tax line. Milwaukee would still need another move to get down to 15, but trimming Nance first and then another standard contract player would make far more financial sense than simply waiving two fully guaranteed deals.
Of course, the cleanest outcome for Milwaukee would be avoiding cuts altogether and finding trade partners instead. Caris LeVert and Kyle Kuzma are two names that fit that possibility, while the team could also look to thin out its crowded backcourt by dealing AJ Green or Kevin Porter Jr., both of whom could bring back assets.
Even so, Nance is the player with the most precarious spot. The Bucks clearly value him enough to have waived him earlier this offseason and then brought him back on a new non-guaranteed deal.
They could go down that road again. That kind of move is routine in the NBA, but it still stings a little more when a player has shown real signs of usefulness.
Nance did that last season and again in Summer League, flashing enough to suggest there’s something there. He wasn’t the headliner, but he fit the mold of a steady, versatile reserve.
He did a little of everything - scoring, shooting, passing, rebounding, and just generally keeping the second unit organized. After losing two key frontcourt pieces in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis, keeping a low-cost glue guy like that would make sense.
For now, though, Nance looks like he’s waiting on the inevitable. The Bucks still have some maneuvering left to do, and they remain in the hunt for Peyton Watson, so the final roster picture is not set. There is still a path where Milwaukee moves two contracts and somehow keeps Nance around, but the odds of that feel long.
In Other News...
Taylor Jenkins First Bucks Staff Says Plenty About Milwaukees New Era
Taylor Jenkins has filled out his first Bucks coaching staff, giving Milwaukee a clearer look at the people who will help shape this next chapter. The group includes assistant coaches Darvin Ham, Pat St. Andrews, Vince Legarza, Brad Jones, Johnny Carpenter, T.J. Ford and Schuyler Rimmer, along with Jack Herum, Isaiah Wilkins and Nshan Kenjoian in assistant and development roles.
For Milwaukee, the staff matters because this is where a new voice starts to become a new structure. Jenkins now has a blend of experienced NBA hands and younger developmental pieces around him, the sort of mix that can influence everything from day-to-day habits to how the team grows over the course of the season. The bigger question is how all of those pieces will fit once the work really begins. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks May Have A Clearer Path In The Peyton Watson Chase
Peyton Watson has started to look like one of the more interesting names to monitor as the trade market develops, with Milwaukee among the teams believed to be seriously involved. The Bucks are being mentioned alongside the Hawks, Cavaliers and Clippers, which gives the chase some real texture and suggests this is not a one-team pursuit but a broader scramble for a young, versatile piece.
For Milwaukee, the appeal is obvious if the market stays crowded. Any delay or uncertainty on the Los Angeles side only matters more because a sign-and-trade remains a possible route, and those deals can be tricky even in the best of circumstances. If the Clippers cannot move cleanly, the Bucks could find themselves with a more workable lane to press their case for Watson. [Read more 🡒]
Kevin Porter Jr. Just Became A Huge Bucks Roster Question
Kevin Porter Jr. chose to stay in Milwaukee by exercising his player option for next season, keeping him on a Bucks roster that already has more guards than obvious minutes. Last season, he played 38 games and quickly became one of the teams most useful backcourt pieces, finishing as Milwaukees second-leading scorer while handling a lot of the playmaking burden as the primary ball handler.
The problem is that a productive return does not necessarily make his place secure. The Bucks guard rotation is crowded, and with the team reportedly pursuing Denver forward Peyton Watson, Porters name is one that could come up in trade conversations as Milwaukee keeps reshaping the back end of the roster. If he stays, he could still have a real role as a key reserve, but for now his future is part fit, part math, and part whatever the Bucks decide to do next. [Read more 🡒]