The Milwaukee Bucks pulled Ousmane Dieng’s qualifying offer, turning him into an unrestricted free agent and changing his next move before free agency even fully opens. The offer would have paid him $9.6 million for one season, but Milwaukee chose not to keep that number on the table.
That is why Brandon Carlson is drawing attention now: the Bucks did not just pass on a contract number, they changed Dieng’s leverage. Because they own his bird rights, they can still re-sign him on a new deal if they want him back, but they no longer control his market the way they would have with the qualifying offer in place.
Dieng’s case is not a blank slate. After being acquired at the trade deadline in a three-team deal, he played 30 games in Milwaukee and started 20 of them. He averaged 26.8 minutes, 11.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists, while shooting 42.3% from the field and 33.1% from beyond the arc. For a player whose biggest NBA workload before this stop came with the Oklahoma City Thunder, where his highest average was 19.3 MPG, Milwaukee was the first time he had extended playing time in meaningful minutes.
He also showed why the decision was not a simple one. On April 1, Dieng had a career-high 36 points and 10 assists in a close loss to the Houston Rockets. But he also had seven games with four or more turnovers, including a seven-turnover game against the Brooklyn Nets, and that kind of uneven production helps explain why the Bucks were not willing to commit the $9.6 million qualifying offer.
The Bucks still have a path back if they believe the upside is worth the risk. They can pursue a different contract, and they can do it with the one advantage that matters most in these negotiations: bird rights. Jericho Sims will be back for his third season with the Milwaukee Bucks, but Dieng’s next stop is now open to the rest of the league as well.
For Milwaukee, the move suggests flexibility more than certainty. For Dieng, it means the season that gave him a larger role, better numbers and one huge night in Milwaukee has also opened the door to a market where the Bucks no longer get the first and only say.
