Following recent Milwaukee Bucks rumors suggesting a major interest from the Boston Celtics in Khris Middleton, the latest report references Milwaukee’s young, star talents as being untouchable in trade discussions.
There was understandable uproar among many Milwaukee Bucks fans on Tuesday at the thought of the team trading Khris Middleton, yet that was never really what anybody was suggesting would happen.
With the Boston Celtics failing to buy in to any one particular player with the third overall pick on Thursday night’s upcoming NBA Draft, it has long been no secret that Celtics general manager Danny Ainge is searching for deals to move it.
One such deal that Ainge hoped to be a possibility centered around Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton, as he hoped to add a more established presence to an already competitive Boston team.
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Our own Ti Windisch outlined the details of that report on Tuesday, which originated from Pro Basketball Draft and Sheridan Hoops’ Joe Kotoch.
Later that evening, ESPN’s Marc Stein chimed in to add greater context to the discussion. The earlier suggestions were indeed true, and not only were the Celtics asking questions about Middleton, but also about the availability of his teammate Jabari Parker.
Unsurprisingly, and to the relief of many Bucks fans, Stein reports that those Celtics overtures were quickly shot down by Milwaukee, as many of Boston’s ideas have been elsewhere in the league so far.
"The Bulls, sources say, continue to show little interest in dealing Butler to the Celtics, who previously tried to trade for him before the league’s annual deadline in February.Sources say the Celtics are one of just a number of teams trying to convince Utah to surrender Hayward — Phoenix, which holds two lottery picks (No. 4 and 13) in Thursday’s draft, is another — but the Jazz have been telling interested teams that he is not available.The same, sources say, goes for Parker and Middleton in Milwaukee, since the Bucks regard both of those young cornerstones, as well as Giannis Antetokounmpo, as untouchables."
Although to many it would seem like something of a given, the significance of Milwaukee’s three core pieces being deemed untouchable should not be underestimated.
Heading into the draft with free agency set to follow close behind, it’s rare for teams to take any of their players off the table in discussions at a time when the willingness to make deals is generally at its greatest.
With the Bucks having plenty of questions of their own to answer, and Greg Monroe said to be very much on the trade block, it would perhaps have not come as a shock to hear that the Bucks were even open to fielding offers.
Instead, the team’s commitment to a young group of talent who have clearly got potential that they haven’t come close to having a chance to realize should be commended.
General manager John Hammond even described the interest of other teams as an example of the positive situation the Bucks currently find themselves in.
"“I think we could get involved in multiple discussions and very prominent discussions, if we chose to do that.We’re believing that players we have are keeper players and guys that can be parts to a championship team someday. We believe in the youth in this team and some of the experience we have.Sometimes people say, ‘Don’t fall in love with your own players’. But once again, don’t take advantage of your guys, too.The old saying is you’re most critical of the ones you love. And you can do that sometimes. You’re with these guys every day and you can nitpick their games, but you need to appreciate what you have, too. And we do appreciate the guys on our roster.”"
So, as a busy few days for the Milwaukee Bucks and the wider NBA are set to take hold, it seems as if the Bucks are set on keeping the key pieces of their squad together for now.
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Still it’s always worth keeping in mind, that with the way the NBA works, anything can happen.