4 trade ideas for Milwaukee Bucks’ Pat Connaughton

The Milwaukee Bucks will have some difficult decisions to make this offseason when it comes to improving their roster. They have very few tools at their disposal when it comes to signing outside free agents (even fewer thanks to the new CBA), which makes trading someone like Pat Connaughton an option they could explore.

Connaughton has established himself as a fan-favorite after signing with Milwaukee in 2018. He’s spent the last five years with the Bucks, working his way up from a little used wing player to a proven playoff performer. His clutch shot-making and hustle plays have been integral to the Bucks’ recent postseason success.

Unfortunately, Milwaukee needs to explore trading players like Connaughton in an attempt to shake up their roster and get out of the rut they’re in. He begins a new three-year deal in 2023 that will see him earn $9.4 million in each of the following three seasons (with a player option in the third year).

He’s also coming off the worst shooting season of his Bucks’ career, lowering his trade value for any potential suitors. At 30 years old, however, he should still have a few good years left in him. Let’s dial up the ol’ trade machine and see what kind of deal we can work out.

The Milwaukee Bucks’ best way to shake up their roster is to address the middle of their roster. Here are four trade ideas for Pat Connaughton.

Both the Bucks and Kings underperformed in the playoffs based on their expectations and will look for a jolt to improve their outcomes. Connaughton can give the young Kings a veteran on the wing who knows what it takes to succeed in the postseason.

Davion Mitchell took a step backward in Year 2 as Malik Monk and others took over his role. However, he brings toughness and a defense-first mentality the Bucks could be looking for. He’s a younger version of Jevon Carter on the defensive side of the ball, where he can pressure ball-handlers 94 feet from the hoop. He also has some more size which should allow him to guard a couple of positions and switch some on defense.

Mitchell might not have the outside shot the Bucks are looking for, but he averaged double-digit points during his rookie year. He also has some more playmaking chops, allowing him to play as a true point guard alongside Jrue Holiday or back him up. Adding a younger player with upside and still on his rookie contract are also pluses.

Kyle Anderson would be an intriguing fit on the Bucks’ roster. Over the last three years, he’s spent most of his time at the 4, but can slide down and play the 3. Milwaukee could also move Giannis Antetokounmpo down and slide Anderson in between him and Brook Lopez in the frontcourt.

Anderson, nicknamed Slo Mo, moves at his own pace, preferring to take most of his shots between four and 14 feet, where he’s an elite shooter. He can space the floor–knocking down 41 percent of his threes last year–but does so at such a low volume most defenses don’t worry too much about him out there.

He can also give the Bucks another playmaker to run the second unit or compliment (hopefully) added ball movement on the offense as a tertiary assist man.

The Timberwolves add depth and spacing on the wing and recoup one of the many first-round picks they sent out in the already disastrous Rudy Gobert trade.

Before we move on, it’s important to address the addition of the Bucks’ 2029 first-round pick in these trades. For simplicity’s sake, all of the firsts are top 10 protected. Milwaukee is in a rare win-now mode and must use their only available first-round pick in a trade if they want to upgrade the middle of their roster.

Milwaukee also sends out MarJon Beauchamp in this deal. Beauchamp showed some brief flashes in his rookie campaign, but projects to be a bottom-of-the-rotation wing player. Using him to add a proven veteran for the next couple of years is a tough but necessary pill to swallow.

Dorian Finney-Smith can play three positions–small forward, power forward and center. That versatility would give the Bucks plenty of options in the frontcourt (and also possibly signal another trade is necessary to balance the roster). The defensive chops he brings to the table would help them unlock a switching defense that could wreak havoc in the postseason. A lineup of Holiday, Khris Middleton, Finney-Smith and Antetokounmpo could easily switch 1 through 4.

He doesn’t bring too much to the table on the offensive side. He only made 30 percent of his threes last year, but is a 35.7 percent career three-point shooter. Before last season, he made at least 40 percent of his corner threes in three of his previous four seasons (the lone exception was a 37 percent performance). That would likely be his role in Milwaukee.

The Chicago Bulls are stuck in no man’s land. A year after surprising the NBA as a six-seed and bowing to the Bucks in six games in the first round of the playoffs, they failed to make the postseason altogether this year. Big changes are needed.

In addition to Connaughton, Milwaukee sends them a top-10 protected first-round pick in exchange for Alex Caruso’s services.

Caruso and Holiday would create the best defensive backcourt the NBA has seen in a long time. Caruso is all over the place, using lightning-quick hands, a high basketball I.Q. and savviness to wreak havoc on opposing defenders.

He’s a somewhat clunky fit on offense, struggling mightily with turnovers (an issue the Bucks already faced last season). However, the Bucks could move him off ball and as a spot-up three-point shooter, where he has a career 36.5 percent success rate.