On the day that Jabari Parker was diagnosed with a torn ACL, the Bucks were 22-29 and appeared to be on track for a spot in the lottery. However, the team came into its own down the stretch of the 2016/17 season, finishing on a 20-11 run and giving the Raptors all they could handle in the first round of the playoffs. This is a team on the rise, led by MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo, but Milwaukee isn’t typically a destination for top free agents, and the club likely won’t have much spending flexibility this summer anyway. The Bucks may ultimately continue to rely on the trade market and the draft, where they’ve struck gold in recent years.
Here’s where things currently stand for the Bucks financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2017:
Guaranteed Salary
- Giannis Antetokounmpo ($22,471,911)
- Khris Middleton ($14,100,000)
- John Henson ($11,422,536)
- Mirza Teletovic ($10,500,000)
- Matthew Dellavedova ($9,607,500)
- Jabari Parker ($6,782,392)
- Thon Maker ($2,684,160)
- Rashad Vaughn ($1,889,040)
- Larry Sanders ($1,865,547) — Waived via stretch provision
- Malcolm Brogdon ($1,312,611)
- Total: $82,635,697
Player Options
- Greg Monroe ($17,884,176)
- Spencer Hawes ($6,021,175)
- Total: $23,905,351
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Gary Payton II ($1,312,611)1
- Total: $1,312,611
Restricted Free Agents
- Tony Snell ($4,588,840 qualifying offer / $5,920,818 cap hold)
- Total: $5,920,818
Cap Holds
- Greg Monroe ($22,289,589) — If player option is declined
- Spencer Hawes ($9,523,137) — If player option is declined
- Michael Beasley ($1,471,382)
- Jason Terry ($1,471,382)
- No. 17 overall pick ($2,135,040)
- Total: $36,890,530
Trade Exceptions
- Roy Hibbert TPE ($5,000,000) — Expires 2/23/18
- Tyler Ennis TPE ($1,733,880) — Expires 9/22/17
- Miles Plumlee TPE ($1,151,241) — Expires 2/2/18
- Michael Carter-Williams TPE ($815,199) — Expires 10/17/17
Projected Salary Cap: $101,000,000
Maximum Cap Room: $14,598,033
- With their nine players on guaranteed contracts, their first-round pick, and two empty roster spot charges, the Bucks have $86,401,967 in projected salary for 2017/18, giving the team a little breathing room under the cap. However, that’s probably not a realistic scenario, since it would mean renouncing Snell and all their trade exceptions, not to mention Monroe and Hawes both turning down their player options. It’s much more likely that the Bucks will remain over the cap this offseason.
Footnotes:
- Payton’s 2017/18 salary believed to be non-guaranteed, per Basketball Insiders. The Vertical lists it as guaranteed.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and The Vertical was used in the creation of this post.
I recall reading once that if Larry Sanders were to make a comeback and sign with an NBA team, the Bucks’ cap hit after buying him out and using the stretch provision would decrease. I’m not sure what the cap hit figure was before the Cavs signed him. Is this an updated number? I was surprised to see a lack of coverage from my favorite Bucks outlets after he signed in Cleveland. Do they owe him less money now than they did in February?
Set-off rights do apply when a player signs with a new team, but for minimum salary contracts like the one Sanders signed, the savings are generally very minimal — and since it was just a one-year deal, they only applied to the 2016/17 league year, meaning his 2017/18 cap hit for the Bucks remains the same. That could change if he signs with a team next season though.
It’s all about the bench. Even if moose is back we need more scoring off the bench
Can we please trade Middleton for a top ten pick and get monk actually have a three point shooter