NBA free agency is just around the corner! Teams can start negotiating with any available player starting at 5 p.m. Central on Monday. The Bucks are going to be busy throughout the week as they have several roster spots to fill. Brew Hoop has already covered all of Milwaukee’s own free agents, and now we’ll be talking about some other guys on the open market the team should consider signing. Van will have a piece listing a bunch of potential signees and how they would fit on the court and contractually, and today I’ll be breaking down a few guys individually who fill the Bucks’ biggest needs. Let’s dive in.
Malcolm Brogdon, 6’4” guard, 32 years old
NBA: Atlanta Hawks at Washington Wizards Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images
2024–25 stats (Wizards): 24 GP (13 GS), 12.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 4.1 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 43.3% FG, 28.6% 3P, 88.0% FT
As you probably know, Brogdon began his career with the Bucks. He was drafted 36th overall in 2016 out of Virginia and went on to win Rookie of the Year, beating out Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, and more. Brogdon got better in each of his three seasons in Milwaukee, but the team chose not to keep him in 2019 free agency. Since his departure, The President has been a fantastic pro. He had a couple borderline All-Star seasons with the Pacers and won Sixth Man of the Year in 2023 with the Celtics. However, nagging injuries have followed him everywhere, and he’s only played over 60 games in one of his post-Milwaukee seasons. In 2024–25 with the Wizards, he appeared in just 24 contests.
When he’s healthy, Brogdon is the ideal backup point guard. His role with the 2022–23 Celtics was perfect for him. He’s a level-headed floor general who can control the pace of a game. The veteran isn’t a game-warping playmaker, but he makes the right read consistently and limits turnovers: for his career, he’s averaged 4.7 APG and just 1.7 TPG. With Washington last season, he placed in the 95th percentile of BBall Index’s passing efficiency metric.
Brogdon is also a complete scorer who can get it done at every level. He pressures the rim relentlessly and can look like one of the best guard finishers in the league at times. The Georgia native is fearless and will take it to the rack against anybody.
Shooting has always been his calling card—he’s a career 38.8% marksman from beyond the arc. However, with the Wizards, his sporadic availability messed with his efficiency, and he shot just 28.6% from deep. Chances are that was just a fluke, but regression may be something to keep an eye on.
Brogdon is also a strong, disciplined defender with the know-how to get stops on and off the ball. His 6’4”, 229-pound frame allows him to switch a little bit up and down the position scale. According to BBall Index, he was an 82nd-percentile defender in isolation and a 75th-percentile ball-screen navigator last season.
Needs Brogdon would fill for the Bucks
Adding ball handling and creation in the backcourt (or anywhere in the lineup, really) should be near the top of the priority list for the Bucks this offseason. As things currently stand, Giannis is their only real playmaker with Damian Lillard injured and Kevin Porter Jr.’s future with the team up in the air. Depending on how the rest of the roster shapes up, Brogdon could hold things down as the sixth man or fill in as a starter until Dame’s return. He would be a much-needed calming on-ball presence and help generate easy looks for Milwaukee’s armada of off-ball scorers. Additionally, he would add fortification at the point-of-attack defensively, another area where the Bucks desperately need help.
Potential contract
Brogdon would most likely eat into Milwaukee’s mid-level exception (MLE), earning a salary of somewhere between $5m and $8m annually. Signing him to a figure in that range may not take away the team’s ability to retain Gary Trent Jr. or Kevin Porter Jr. if they’re planning to do so. There is also a world where Brogdon’s market dries up due to his injury history, age, and efficiency struggles, meaning there’s a chance he could be snatched up on a one-year, “prove it” minimum deal.
Dennis Schröder, 6’1” point guard, 31 years old
NBA: Detroit Pistons at Oklahoma City Thunder Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
2024–25 stats (Nets/Warriors/Pistons): 75 GP (49 GS), 13.1 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 5.4 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 40.6% FG, 34.2% 3P, 83.8% FT
Throughout his career, Schröder has been one of basketball’s premier backup point guards. A journeyman, he’s spent time with nine different NBA franchises and contributed positively to each one. Some of his most notable stints came with the Hawks, Thunder, and Lakers. Bucks fans may remember him from Brooklyn and Toronto, where he had some monster games against Milwaukee.
Schröder’s 2024–25 season was a wild ride. He started the year with the Nets and was playing like a borderline All-Star, averaging 18.4 points and 6.6 assists while shooting 38.7% from deep. He was then traded to the Warriors, where his rhythm was completely thrown off as he wasn’t a clean fit in their unique system. Not even two months later, he was flipped to Detroit as part of the Jimmy Butler deal. The veteran performed very well for the Pistons in the playoffs, averaging a highly efficient 12.5 PPG during their first-round loss to the Knicks.
Schröder’s value stems from his ability to quarterback an offense as a pick-and-roll playmaker. He can be trusted to be the primary creator in bench lineups for long shifts. The former 17th overall pick doesn’t fold under pressure and responsibility—he’s battle-tested in the playoffs, and he’s one of Germany’s greatest Olympic players ever. While you obviously don’t want him as your number one option if you’re trying to seriously compete, Schröder can score in bunches off the bench while feeding all his teammates too. He’s a generator, a true floor general.
The Braunschweig native has built a long career because he’s a fiery competitor. He cares about winning, he’s willing to do the dirty work, and he’s a leader. Need a tough bucket in the clutch? He’s got that. Is Steph Curry giving you trouble? Schröder will chase him around. Schröder has played for so many teams because what he brings to the table is coveted by any team that wants to compete.
Needs Schröder would fill for the Bucks
Milwaukee hasn’t had a point guard who plays like Schröder in a long time. The team could really use a trustworthy ball handler like him off their bench, especially with Damian Lillard set to miss a large chunk of time. What separates Schröder from other free agent guards like Tyus Jones and Monte Morris is his ability to produce as a starter and be a volume scorer. The Bucks will need any scoring/creation help they can get in Dame’s absence.
Potential contract
It wouldn’t be surprising if Schröder comes out of the gate asking for the full MLE, about $14m annually. He expressed discontent with how often he switched teams last season and will probably be looking for a team to invest in him with a little more certainty this summer. That would be a risky price tag for the Bucks, as giving him the full MLE would prevent them from bringing back either of the juniors (Gary Trent and Kevin Porter). So, should they choose to pursue Schröder, they should try to negotiate down to a more reasonable $8m, which could leave room for a GTJ or KPJ reunion as well.
D’Angelo Russell, 6’4” guard, 29 years old
NBA: Brooklyn Nets at Dallas Mavericks Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
2024–25 stats (Lakers/Nets): 58 GP (36 GS), 12.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 5.1 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.4 BPG, 39.0% FG, 31.4% 3P, 83.4% FT
In terms of name value, D’Angelo Russell is one of the top free agents available. The former All-Star’s struggles under the bright Los Angeles spotlights tanked his reputation significantly, but he’s still an incredibly talented basketball player who could make a team better.
Russell is among the most advanced passers/playmakers in the NBA when he wants to be. The “when he wants to be” designation is key because he sometimes forces things as a scorer, but we’ll get to that in a second. D’Lo can make every read in the book. He excels at operating in the pick-and-roll and making plays with a live dribble. Russell graded out in the 90th percentile or higher in many of BBall Index’s playmaking metrics last season, including playmaking talent, passing efficiency, P&R creation rate, and on-ball gravity.
Defenses need to respect Russell as a scorer, and he knows how to leverage the attention he garners and turn it into advantages for his teammates. That’s what makes him a playmaker in every sense of the word. However, as mentioned, he sometimes leans too far into his bucket-getting talents, and that’s where the red flags with him pop up. Russell is a fantastic volume shooter from everywhere on the court, but he can be streaky, and he likes to take tough shots, so his efficiency plummets when he’s misused in an offense. He needs to be a playmaker first, and a scorer second, but he also needs the ball in his hands to succeed. Luckily, the Bucks have the right infrastructure to give him that role.
Needs Russell would fill for the Bucks
If Milwaukee is looking for a bargain Lillard replacement, Moneyball style, then there isn’t a better option out there than D’Angelo Russell. It may sound crazy, but he’s truly not far off from Dame as a playmaker, and he can bend defenses as a scorer too. He knows what it takes to be a lead guard with a high creation load because he’s played with that responsibility for most of his career. He wouldn’t help the Bucks at the point-of-attack defensively, but he would hopefully make up for that with his offensive contributions.
Potential contract
Just like with Brogdon and Schröder, the target price for the Bucks to get D’Angelo Russell would be somewhere in the ballpark of $7m. His value around the league is probably down enough to avoid having to give him the full MLE, which would be nice, as keeping one of Gary Trent Jr. and Kevin Porter Jr. around would be awesome. However, Russell could prove to be much more impactful than Brogdon and Schröder, and he can do a lot of what Trent and Porter can, so the full MLE should at least be on the table if need be. Again, though, that wouldn’t be the ideal scenario.
Which of these three guards would you sign if you’re the Bucks? Who else should the team target in free agency? Leave your thoughts below!