Milwaukee Bucks’ path to Jae Crowder trade is limited

The Milwaukee Bucks operate like a true small-market franchise, never failing to do their due diligence about any player who may be available.

General manager Jon Horst is always snooping around to gauge the price and opportunity his team may have to make a deal. On a recent Lowe Post podcast, host Zach Lowe mentioned the Bucks were “sneakily kind of sniffing around Jerami Grant in Detroit before Portland swooped in.” He continued to say that he thinks the Bucks will also look into Jae Crowder, stating they “like the idea of the switchable, switchable, switchable guys.”

Crowder and the Suns appear to be in the process of going their separate ways. Crowder asked Phoenix to skip training camp until they find a trade suitor for him. This came on the heels of the team informing him he may lose his starting spot this season.

The Milwaukee Bucks are rumored to be interested in trading for Jae Crowder, but their path to a deal is limited by their contracts.

That has opened the door for the Bucks (or another team) to swoop in and trade for a proven veteran. Milwaukee needs size on the wing considering their limited options after Khris Middleton: 6-foot-4 Grayson Allen, 6-4 Wesley Matthews, and 6-5 Pat Connaughton.

Crowder also brings the defensive mentality head coach Mike Budenholzer loves. He willingly grinds on the defensive end of the court and thrives when guarding the league’s best players. He also has the size and strength to defend smaller or bigger players. He would fit perfectly into Milwaukee’s culture.

Offensively, he would fit in as a floor-spacer without requiring the rock in his hands. According to Cleaning the Glass, his 14 percent usage rate ranked in the 32nd percentile among forwards. Furthermore, nearly two-thirds of his shot attempts last season came in the catch-and-shoot variety. He appears to be a great fit on paper.

Crowder only has one year and $10.2 million remaining on his contract before he will hit unrestricted free agency last season. And at 32-years-old, he’d represent another aging player on the Bucks’ roster.

The biggest issue to any trade will be the Bucks’ ability to match salary with the Suns. Since Milwaukee and Phoenix are tax-paying teams, any deal they make can’t exceed 125% of the pre-trade salary of the traded player(s) plus $100,000. In other words, if the Suns are trading Crowder and his $10,183,800 million salary for 2022-23, they can’t receive more than $12,829,750 million in return.

Milwaukee is very limited in its salary structures and the players they can trade. They either have guys at the very high end of the pay scale–Giannis Antetokounmpo ($42.5 million), Khris Middleton ($38 million) or Jrue Holiday ($33.7 million)–or much lower at $13 million (Brook Lopez) or less. They’re even more limited by who they can’t trade. Bobby Portis, Pat Connaughton, Jordan Nwora, Jevon Carter and Serge Ibaka can’t be dealt until they hit the time requirements after re-signing this offseason.

The only realistic path (that I can see) to a Crowder trade is sending the Suns Grayson Allen. Allen is set to make $8.5 million this season, making Crowder’s $10.2 million legal within the CBA rules listed above. A one-for-one swap is unlikely to be acceptable for the Suns so Milwaukee would have to sweeten the pot with extra draft capital. They have the following picks they could include in a deal: Their own 2023 second-round, lesser 2023 second-round from Cleveland or Golden State, own 2024 second-round, 2024 second-round from Portland, 2025 second-round from Indiana, and own 2027 second-round. It might take a couple of those second-rounders to get the deal done.

Crowder could fit in seamlessly in the starting lineup and provide an extra defensive punch this team is looking for. Milwaukee will surely do its due diligence to determine if there is any pathway to a trade between the two teams, but any deal will be difficult to pull off.