Before the Milwaukee Bucks begin a pivotal 2025-26 NBA campaign on Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards, they must finalize their roster. While there are many people who may not care who rounds out this team's bench, this decision is quite important. Another early playoff exit could mark the end of the Giannis Antetokounmpo era, and in order to avoid that, the franchise must fix its persisting supporting cast issue.
Therefore, the question of “who will make the team” carries more weight in Milwaukee than maybe any other NBA city. The organization is hard at work trying to sort everything out before opening tip-off. Its most recent activity suggests as much.
“Over the weekend, the Bucks gauged the trade market on Smith, league sources told HoopsHype,” NBA insider Michael Scotto writes. “Should Milwaukee not find a suitable trade partner before Monday’s 5:00 p.m. ET roster cutdown deadline, Smith is expected to be waived, league sources said.”
Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints had previously reported the team's anticipated decision to part ways with the No. 33 overall selection in the 2024 NBA Draft. Smith was believed to be competing with fellow former second-round pick Andre Jackson Jr. and veteran Amir Coffey. It is practical for Bucks general manager Jon Horst to seek possible trade partners, but the league is obviously hesitant to give up a future asset for the largely unproven Smith.
The former Overtime Elite forward averaged 2.9 points on 48 percent shooting in 5.3 minutes per contest last season. Given the small sample size, it is difficult to properly evaluate his potential. Again, Milwaukee cannot afford to whiff on this move.
There will presumably be a team that at least considers scooping up the 6-foot-11 Tyler Smith and adding him to its G League roster. The Bucks need to think long and hard about the likelihood of the 20-year-old fitting into their long-term plans, because they may not get a do-over.
