Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee Bucks: 4 Implications Of The Center Swap With Hornets

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:51 p.m. ET

Fansided, Joshua Cornelissen/FanSided via Hoops Habit

Oct 26, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks center Miles Plumlee (18) (center), Charlotte Hornets center Roy Hibbert (55) (left) and guard Nicolas Batum (5) (right) reach for the loose ball during the first quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

The Milwaukee Bucks kicked off the trade season by swapping big men with the Charlotte Hornets. What are the implications for this season and beyond?

For the Milwaukee Bucks as well as anyone in the league, trade season in the NBA is always a time for large hopes and dreams for teams and fans alike. Each team has before it a collection of assets and a list of team needs, armed with the hope of turning little into a lot.

The reality is that very few trades see superstars move around and, in fact, most involve bench pieces being shuffled as teams try to rejigger a weak spot in their rotation.

Last season, out of 29 players moved between Jan. 1 and the trade deadline, only four were consistent starters for their new teams.

When the Milwaukee Bucks and Charlotte Hornets began the official trade season on Thursday, they set the league on its usual course. Miles Plumlee, Roy Hibbert, Spencer Hawes — those names will not be participating in All-Star Weekend.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t implications to be drawn out to show how Milwaukee will be affected by the deal.

Those begin now, as the Bucks are now loaded at the pivot. Moving forward, the financial implications of the deal become more clear, as general manager John Hammond and head coach Jason Kidd pulled off a deal for the future much more than for the present.

This move was not the sort of deal that will propel Milwaukee into the playoffs, but it does give them the flexibility down the road to seriously build a contender. Before they reach that point, the path directly ahead is currently loaded with big men.

Mar 26, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks center Greg Monroe (15) dribbles the ball as Charlotte Hornets center Cody Zeller (40) defends during the second quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

The Milwaukee Bucks Have A Lot Of Centers

With the completion of the trade, the Bucks are now absolutely stocked at center. Five of their 15 players are best deployed at the 5, from sixth man Greg Monroe to rookie Thon Maker. John Henson and newcomers Roy Hibbert and Spencer Hawes will also compete for minutes.

Jabari Parker is entrenched as the starting power forward, and Mirza Teletovic is his backup. When both are healthy that leaves little to no room for any of the centers to slide over into extra-large lineups.

Add in the ability of Giannis Antetokounmpo to defend centers at times and Milwaukee’s best lineups probably don’t include any of their five centers.

That isn’t a major problem, as the looming return of Khris Middleton will fill out the wing rotation for a team that has been relatively healthy outside of Middleton all season.

Having more bigs gives the team flexibility to matchup better with any team they may face, and likewise provides insurance for injury and foul trouble.

While adding an extra center wasn’t an area of need, for this roster it isn’t an area of hurt either. Waiving the rarely used Steve Novak to take on both newcomers wasn’t a short-term loss either. This trade wasn’t about shoring up a weak position, but rather about the long-term numbers.

Oct 19, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks center Miles Plumlee (18) and Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) battle for a rebound in the first quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Milwaukee Isn’t Losing A Key Rotation Player

Last season Miles Plumlee played an increased role for the Bucks, starting 14 games after the team decided Greg Monroe was not the answer in the starting lineup. In all he played in 61 games, averaging 14.3 minutes per contest.

This season his role became more inconsistent, as Jason Kidd rotated a variety of options at starting center ahead of Monroe as the sixth man. John Henson has tallied 34 starts, while Plumlee has 12, appearing in 32 games total.

He has averaged just 9.7 minutes per game and 2.6 points per game in his limited appearances.

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This means that the Bucks are not requiring either Roy Hibbert or Spencer Hawes to step in and provide significant minutes, a good thing because neither player has performed well for the Hornets.

Hawes has been a black hole on both ends of the court, his creative playmaking not enough to make up for poor shooting and turnstile defense.

Hibbert has been solid at the rim, allowing just 43.1 percent at the rim, fourth in the league among guys facing at least four attempts per games.

But in space he doesn’t have the agility nor instincts to stop ballhandlers from blowing past him, and on offense he is helpless to do more than stand near the basket.

With John Henson and Greg Monroe sopping up the majority of the minutes, the Bucks don’t need either player to make an impact this season.

If one or both can step in when called upon and give the team a handful of high-energy minutes, then the organization will be quite pleased with the move.

Feb 1, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker (12) dribbles the ball during the first half against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

The Savings Are Significant

The largest impetus for this trade was to free Milwaukee from the obligation to continue paying Plumlee until he is firmly in his 30s. In a summer where every team was handing out lucrative contracts to centers, the Bucks gave theirs $50 million over four years.

At the time the contract was a borderline overpay, and as Plumlee has struggled to maintain a consistent spot in the rotation it has begun to look even worse.

If Thon Maker puts together his talent into a consistent impact, the Bucks would be paying Henson and Plumlee a combined $25 million each season to serve as backups.

By trading Plumlee, the Bucks wipe the slate clean for the future. Roy Hibbert is on a one-year contract, and it seems likely Milwaukee will allow him to leave without a serious attempt to re-sign him.

Hawes has a $6 million player option, one he could decline to sign a longer-term deal. If he picks it up, the Bucks can stretch Hawes to free up space.

Counting Hawes’ player option, that is only a possible $6 million owed over the next three seasons, instead of $37.5 million.

With Giannis Antetokounmpo’s extension kicking in, and Jabari Parker nearing time for his extension conversations, Milwaukee needed to free up space down the line to avoid the luxury tax.

Feb 1, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Thon Maker (7) shoots the ball against Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum (11) during the second half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Jazz won 104-88. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Center Could Be Thin Next Season

As recently as 48 hours ago, the Milwaukee Bucks had three centers locked up for at least three seasons each, giving them assurance of depth with limited flexibility.

By swapping out Plumlee for Hibbert and Hawes, the Bucks now have three centers who could hit free agency and walk away from the team.