The Milwaukee Bucks enter the offseason fresh off an incredibly successful campaign that saw them obtain the best record in the NBA and advance all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals where they were defeated by the Toronto Raptors.
However, whether their success would continue on was a legitimate question with the contracts of some of their key players expiring this summer. Now with free agency nearly upon us, the Bucks have already reportedly locked up two of their more important role players. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Bucks will bring back free agents Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton. Wojnarowski reports that the deal for Brook Lopez is 4-year, $52 million while Middleton will receive a 5-year deal worth $178 million.
Once free agency opens at 6 PM ET, Brook Lopez is planning to sign a four-year, $52M deal to stay with the Milwaukee Bucks, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
Once free agency opens at 6 PM, All-Star Khris Middleton plans to return to the Milwaukee Bucks on a five-year, $178M contract, league sources tell ESPN. The deal is expected to include a player option on final year.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez were certainly slated to be two of the more sought-after free agents this summer but will now take another run at it with Milwaukee. Both are solid secondary offensive options and their excellent shooting makes them a good fit next to 2019 MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
With Middleton and Lopez now staying put, the free agency pool lost one of it’s most dangerous perimeter scorers and a stretch big that a number of contenders were hoping to pursue. Now Milwaukee will gear its attention towards retaining combo guard Malcolm Brogdon which just got even tougher. As long as the Bucks can come back next season with a capable bench, they will once again be among the Eastern Conference elite.
