Ranking top 5 realistic Milwaukee Bucks’ trade targets
These are the five best realistic players the Milwaukee Bucks should target in a trade this offseason.
The Milwaukee Bucks are actively exploring all possibilities to improve their team this offseason, including taking a long look at a number of top-tier trade candidates. As obvious as that may be, the logistics of working out any trade will be a lot more complicated and is likely to be the barrier to any potential deal getting done. After all, the Bucks are heavy in established veterans with hefty contracts and light in young players with high ceilings and future draft picks.
As #rumorszn has officially begun, the Bucks have been linked to a number of big-name players across the league from Bogdan Bogdanovic to Victor Oladipo to Chris Paul. We’ll scale the likeliness of any potential deal with those players in a future article. For now, let’s rank the five best players Milwaukee has been linked to since their season ended.
5. Bogdan Bogdanovic
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Milwaukee could be one of the teams interested in restricted free agent Bogdan Bogdanovic. Bogdanovic’s price range is much higher than the roughly $9 million the Bucks have via the mid-level exception which means they’d need to complete a sign-and-trade with the Sacramento Kings in order to acquire his services.
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Bogdanovic is coming off a career-year with the Kings in which he averaged 15.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 37.2 percent from downtown and posting a 54.7 percent effective field goal percentage. He’s an ascending player who is really beginning to find his footing as a secondary playmaker and sharpshooter behind the arc. He’d provide Giannis Antetokounmpo with some more spacing and can make defenders pay for leaving him.
His defense, playmaking chops and athleticism are all question marks. He’s not the most explosive player laterally or vertically which makes him rely on savviness and basketball I.Q. to create open looks for himself and others. He’s not perfect, but he would be a complimentary player to Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.
4. Mike Conley
One of the biggest areas the Bucks are looking to upgrade is their point guard position. Eric Bledsoe has bombed in three straight postseasons and they’d be foolish to try their hand again with him at the helm.
At 33-years-old, Mike Conley is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career in which the Utah Jazz were clearly better without him on the floor. He also missed a lot of time due to injuries. However, if he can get back to the form he showed with the Memphis Grizzlies, the Bucks would be acquiring one of the 10 best point guards in the league and someone who can control the game on both ends of the floor.
3. Victor Oladipo
On an episode of The Lowe Post, ESPN’s Zach Lowe recently said the Bucks are a team to keep an eye on when it comes to the Indiana Pacers’ Victor Oladipo. Oladipo appears to want a max contract with someone other than the Pacers, opening the door for his potential departure this offseason.
Oladipo would be a nice slasher alongside Antetokounmpo and would be the best pick-and-roll playmaker Milwaukee has had in quite some time. His speed is dangerous and it would help Antetokounmpo thrive in an off the ball role.
Oladipo’s outside shooting (a career 35 percent three-point shooter) and his injury history (55 combined games played in the last two seasons) are his biggest question marks. Presumably, part of the reason Milwaukee allowed Malcolm Brogdon to walk was due to his long-term health. Would they really be willing to acquire another player with the same types of question marks?
2. Chris Paul
Perhaps the hottest commodity on the trade market, it might be a bit of a surprise to see Chris Paul come in at no. 2 on this list. However, given his injury history and increasing age, there are enough reasons to be concerned he might not be able to match last year’s production.
With that being said, he’s an elite pick-and-roll playmaker and would instantly unlock another level for Antetokounmpo–a scary thought. He’s also a great floor general who lifts the game of everyone around him, and has enough juice remaining to hold his own on defense. Although the price will be extremely high, Paul would be a huge haul for the Bucks.
1. Jrue Holiday
The top player on my list, Jrue Holiday, would allow Milwaukee to become one of the most versatile teams in the NBA. If you enter him as their starting point guard, they’d be able to switch every possible matchup one through four. Holiday is a stout defender who can bang with bigger guys while quick enough to stay in front of guards.
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Although he’s not nearly the same type of playmaker Paul is, he’s an upgrade over Bledsoe while also providing more spacing. There’s a lot to love about Holiday’s game, not even including his price is considerably lower compared to no. 2 on this list.