With the March 25th NBA trade deadline fast approaching, now is the time contenders come into their final form. For the Milwaukee Bucks, that means finding the right combination of players to take advantage of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s greatness. Back-to-back disappointing playoff runs mean that the margin of error for general manager Jon Horst and the Bucks front office is razor-thin. Here are the trades they need to make to distinguish themselves from fellow Eastern Conference rivals.
1. Clear the Bench
Bucks Receive: Patty Mills
San Antonio Spurs Receive: Dante DiVincenzo, DJ Wilson, and Pat Connaughton
While this may seem like giving up a lot to get a little, Patty Mills is one of the best back-up point guards in the NBA. He also has championship experience and a ring to boot. Mills is also shooting a ridiculously efficient 58% FG and is averaging a career-best 13 points-per-game for the Spurs.
If you’re Jon Horst, these are the kind of moves that you need to make to get you the finals. It also shows Giannis how serious you are about contending. The other thing it does is create a roster with unique gimmicks that will stump opponents in the post-season. Mills will win you a playoff game, the same can’t be said for DiVincenzo, Wilson, or Connaughton.
The hard part would be convincing the Spurs to accept this trade. The upside is that DiVincenzo is able to recognize his talents with a change of scenery, and that doesn’t include championship expectations.
For the Bucks, any lineup consisting of Mills, Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton, and Giannis is bound to make waves. It gives them the ability to compete on both sides of the floor with any of their Eastern Conference counterparts, for now.
2. Bucks Shake it Up
Bucks Receive: John Collins, Danilo Gallinari, and Rajon Rondo
Hawks Receive: Khris Middleton
This is the Earth shatterer. The Bucks replace a player who consistently struggles in the postseason while bolstering the versatility of their frontcourt. While Middleton provides a jack-of-all-trades type of player. Someone who can play off or on the ball, he no longer becomes an inherent mismatch in May and June. Teams figure him out.
The perimeter of this trade revolves around the rocky relationship between Collins and Trae Young. Replacing the fiery and vocal Collins with the professional and constantly dignified Middleton could be the exact shift in maturity the Hawks need.
The one reservation that Horst should have about a trade like this is the loss of a Middleton as a wing defender. Should the Bucks see the Brooklyn Nets in the postseason, the defensive rotation of Holiday, Middleton and Giannis fits perfectly with the Nets Big 3 of Kyrie Irving, James Harden, and Kevin Durant. In this hypothetical world, Rondo becomes the primary defender on Irving, and Holiday shifts to Harden, but giving up that size could prove to be a fatal flaw. Rondo’s upside in the playoffs is more than anything Middleton has shown thus far.
