3 Most Underpaid Milwaukee Bucks For the 2024-25 Season

Contracts are the eye of the beholder, but the Milwaukee Bucks should feel especially good paying these players in 2024-25.

Toronto Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. (33) shoots the ball against the Indiana Pacers in the first half at Scotiabank Arena. / Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Despite having little opportunity to tweak its roster this offseason, Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst has done an excellent job of finding value where it counts.

Bringing in talents such as Gary Trent Jr., Delon Wright and Taurean Prince via free agency and drafting young prospects AJ Johnson and Tyler Smith in the 2024 NBA Draft has added depth to the Bucks' talented core of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton. With that, the Bucks have all the necessary ingredients to cook up something special this upcoming NBA season.

With so much talent up and down the roster, let's take a look at the some of the best pure-dollar players for the Bucks heading into the 2024-25 season.

Gary Trent Jr.

Without question, the signing of 25-year-old Gary Trent Jr. for $2.1 million on a one-year was the Bucks' best offseason move.

Having a real question at shooting guard following the departure of Mailk Beasley to free agency, the Bucks managed to acquire Trent on one of the most team-friendly deals across the NBA.

Last season with the Toronto Raptors, Trent averaged 13.7 points, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. More critically, he sank 39% of his 3-point attempts, which gives Milwaukee a much-needed boost from beyond the arc.

His $2.1 million deal is a far cry from the $18.6 million he made last season on his player option with Toronto, which makes this an excellent steal of a deal for the Bucks given that he will more than likely be starting alongside Damian Lillard in the backcourt. 

Speaking of Lillard, Trent will get to reunite with the former longtime Portland Trail Blazer after having last played with him from 2018-21. During his time with Lillard and the Trail Blazers, Trent shot 40% from deep, where he got plenty of open looks alongside Lillard.

It’s clear to me that Trent’s production is not one of a minimum-salary player, not based on his recent production. This is without question one of the best signings the Bucks have made in recent years, and it could be the key piece needed to help formulate another title run similar to the 2020-21 season when the Bucks won it all.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) calls a play in the second quarter against the Boston Celtics at Fiserv Forum. / Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Giannis Antetokounmpo

It’s hard to argue that a player who’s about to bring home $48.8 million this season can be underpaid, but that’s exactly the case when it comes to Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo for the 2024-25 NBA season.

Based on other contracts from other top talents across the league, Antetokounmpo doesn’t even rank within the top 10 in earnings this year, coming in with the 12th-highest salary behind the likes of Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Jaylen Brown, Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler. 

Sure, with some of those names mentioned above — like Curry, Jokic and Embiid — you could make the argument that they each deserve similar paydays as the Greek Freak, but most of them don’t come close in terms of the impact that they need to have in order to pile up W’s for their respective franchises that Antetokounmpo does.

One could still argue that Giannis is the best player in the NBA right now. And if you don’t agree, at bare minimum, he’s still a top-three talent.

So having him ranked outside of the top five, let alone the top 10 in 2024-25 player salary, is something of a luxury for the Bucks. 

Let me remind you, he’s not only one of the most unique talents in the league, but he's perhaps the best two-way player in the NBA. Through his first 11 seasons with the Bucks, Antetokounmpo has gone on to become a two-time MVP, NBA Finals MVP, a 2019-20 Defensive Player of the Year and six-time First Team All-NBA honoree. 

Not to mention he’s coming off a spectacular season. Last year, Antetokounmpo averaged 30.4 points (second in the NBA), 11.5 rebounds (sixth), a career-high 6.5 assists (T-14th in the NBA), 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting a career-best 61.7% from the field (seventth in NBA). As a result of his dominance, he became  the first player in NBA history to average 30-plus points on 60% shooting in a season.

Simply put, there’s no other talent in the NBA like Giannis. He’s one of a kind, and as long as he can remain healthy, the Bucks have championship aspirations. 

At the same token, Antetokounmpo won’t remain undervalued for much longer. Following this season, his salary will jump to $68.3 million next season and then $73.7 million in 2026-27. But as long as he can remain healthy and help lead his team deep into the postseason and maybe even another title, he will be worth the entirety of his current deal and then some.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis (9) looks for a shot against Indiana Pacers forward Doug McDermott (20) in the second quarter during game one of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Fiserv Forum. / Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Bobby Portis

This one may get some pushback given Bobby Portis didn’t have the season Bucks’ fans expected last season, but I believe he’s due for a bounce-back season in 2024-25.

Projected to make $12.8 million this year, Portis enters this season as still one of the best backup big men in all of basketball.

In what some considered a down year last season, Portis averaged 13.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game on 50.8% shooting from the field and 40.7% on three-pointers over 82 games. He finished third in voting for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award, behind Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk and the 2024 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Naz Reid. 

According to HoopsHype, Portis is expected to be the 133rd best-paid NBA player and 52nd best-paid forward coming into this season. Based on his floor intensity and ability to do the little things like rebounding and screening and knocking down open 3-pointers, there’s no denying that he provides immense value as a player that will predominantly come off the bench. 

As someone who has received votes for Sixth Man of the Year three times out of the past four seasons, Portis is someone who could easily be in for his biggest payday to if he declines his player-option for the 2025-26 season next offseason.