National Basketball Association

Milwaukee Bucks: Who Should Be Traded For Wing Depth?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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As the Milwaukee Bucks attempt to bring in talent to ease the loss of Khris Middleton, who should they be looking to deal?

Just one day after the news of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s extension broke, the Milwaukee Bucks have been rocked by unfortunate news that just may spell doom for their playoff chances.

Starting shooting guard and “3-and-D” specialist Khris Middleton has torn his hamstring and may be out for six months, virtually the entire season.

In order to combat the loss of one of their most important players, the Bucks are reportedly looking at their options in the trade market. We’ll cover what players they may or should be targeting very soon, but who they should be shopping for offers around the league?

As we’ve mentioned so many times, a trade of Greg Monroe has to be considered the best-case scenario, and in this case would serve dual purposes – filling the hole left by Middleton and unclogging the center position of an ill-fitting member.

However, a potential Monroe deal has yet to progress past speculation in any instance, so it may be wiser to focus our thoughts elsewhere.

John Henson may very well be the most attractive non-star option the Bucks have to offer teams at this point, and his exit would also do well to de-clutter the paint for Milwaukee.

Low-usage, rim protecting centers are in high demand, and a trade partner may be found much more quickly for Henson than for the contrasting plodding style of Monroe.

It seems as if Henson will simply not be able to get the minutes he deserves with the Bucks, at least, those most effective minutes where he occupies the role of the lone big on the floor.

At an annual salary of $11 million, his contract is much more than reasonable especially after an offseason that saw fellow defensive minded centers like Ian Mahinmi and even Timofey Mozgov receive upwards of $16 million per year.

Perhaps a team like the Brooklyn Nets or Charlotte Hornets, who lack a true shot blocker, would be willing to part with a backcourt player in exchange for Henson, or maybe some unforeseen team would be willing to pull the trigger on a larger-scale deal.

Michael Carter-Williams could also be a candidate for trade; the starting point guard role should at this point belong to Matthew Dellavedova, and there are certainly better fits for a shooting-challenged lead guard than the Bucks, especially without Middleton.

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Even coming off of a difficult season, MCW may be a sought-after commodity to other franchises who believe his physicality and unique skillset will translate to stardom in the coming years.

The Dallas Mavericks, who boast a less-than inspiring trio of Deron Williams, Devin Harris, and JJ Barea at point could be interested in MCW, as could the Houston Rockets, who for now roster only Patrick Beverley at the position.

Both teams also have the roster makeup necessary to absorb the addition of MCW; plenty of shooting prowess, including a talented stretch four in both cases.

Mentally, it’s tough to produce another player or scenario that could see the trade floor for the Bucks save for a low-level deal involving a player like Tyler Ennis. Many of the Bucks current pieces were brought in to add to a core centered around the trio of Antetokounmpo, Parker, and Middleton.

This trio is very dependent on the spacing abilities of Middleton to “unlock” the offense. Thus, it is difficult to identify an expendable yet attractive option to be traded when virtually the entire roster is focused in such a specific direction.

It may go without saying, but Bucks fans should ignore any trade rumors involving Jabari Parker, as the organization has shown commitment in the past towards keeping the former Duke Blue Devil on the roster no matter the offer.

It’s also important to realize that any player the Bucks were to acquire won’t and shouldn’t necessarily be brought in to “rescue” the season, making such a deal would hamstring (poor choice of words, I know) the Bucks by sacrificing valuable assets for a one-season fix.

Khris Middleton is extremely valuable to the Bucks, perhaps more so than many may know, and his loss is impossible to fully replace for next season. Planning for this sort of eventuality simply cannot be done, so whatever move, if any, the Bucks are to make in the coming days is the result of on-the-fly thinking, much as we are doing here.

Hopefully, the Bucks’ front office can make the best of a bad situation and salvage some replacement value for the loss of one of their most important players, but there’s no doubting this injury hurts.

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