Prior to the roster cutdown deadline, the Bucks turned down a chance to trade Kevin Porter Jr. to the Nuggets in exchange for two future second-rounders, a second-round pick swap and Zeke Nnaji, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reports in his latest Substack column (subscriber link).
Sources tell Fischer that Milwaukee walked away from trade talks because of an unwillingness to take on Nnaji’s $7.47MM player option for 2027/28, in addition to the $7.47MM that he’s making this season. The Bucks wound up waiving Porter on Monday and absorbing his $5.39MM cap hit.
Fischer’s revelation about the trade talks comes as part of a column about the value that NBA front offices are placing on “flexibility and optionality” ahead of acquiring as much available talent as possible. Fischer views it as an “unintended consequence” of the apron system, which is forcing teams to think carefully about every dollar they spend.
Fischer consulted five salary cap specialists who work for other teams to get their perspective on the Bucks’ decision. They unanimously said they would have taken Denver’s offer, noting that Milwaukee currently only has four second-round picks, none of which fall between 2028 and 2032.
Even so, they understand why the Bucks were hesitant to add another $7.47MM to their payroll for next season. An expensive summer could be looming in Milwaukee with Tyler Herro as an unrestricted free agent, Jaime Jaquez Jr. as a restricted free agent and Ryan Rollins likely to turn down his $4MM player option. Fischer refers to Rollins as a “sneaky interesting free agent” for 2027.
However, Fischer points out that the Bucks are projected to have nearly $50MM in cap space when free agency starts and will be safely out of luxury tax territory. He questions whether the team will be able to find a better use for the $7.47MM than having Nnaji on the roster and picking up valuable draft assets.
Elsewhere in the story, Fischer confirms that the Bucks talked to the Lakers about a swap involving Jericho Sims and Dalton Knecht, who was ultimately waived before signing with New York on Friday. Fischer says the trade fell apart because Milwaukee insisted on receiving two second-round picks in the deal, and the Lakers were only willing to part with one.