Milwaukee Bucks: Grades And Reactions For Miles Plumlee Trade
By Adam McGee
What The Bucks Traded Away
Miles Plumlee
Just a few short months after being one of the team’s biggest summer commitments, the Bucks’ front office decided that Miles Plumlee’s future belonged elsewhere.
That’s a sharp and jarring turn of events for Plumlee, but one that makes perfect sense for Milwaukee.
Plumlee broke out in a way that pumped up his future value with the Bucks after the All-Star break last season. Inserted into the starting lineup at a time that coincided with a big leap forward from Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker, and a departure from starting lineups that centered around Michael Carter-Williams and Greg Monroe, Miles Plumlee looked the part in a higher paced, high-flying offensive switch.
With Monroe then looking like he may never figure things out in Milwaukee and John Henson as big a question mark as ever, the Bucks approached Plumlee’s free agency with what could only be described as a fear of losing a player who may have been key to making their young stars better.
The biggest mistake made in re-signing Plumlee came not in the fact that he signed for four years and $50 million, but for the fact that there wasn’t any demand for him in an otherwise crazy market to dictate that price.
As the new season came around and the Bucks took to the floor again, the realization that you’d imagine hit the front office almost immediately was that the play of Giannis and Jabari was more about Giannis and Jabari and less about Miles Plumlee.
For as obvious as that now seems, it would be revisionist to say that the Bucks never had need to believe in Plumlee’s potential future and fit with the team. What the former Duke Blue Devil gave the team in a short burst last year remains much of what they’ll continue to look for in their big men.
In 32 games, which only included 12 starts, this season, Plumlee didn’t look quite as effective as he had last year. In 9.7 minutes per game, his current season per game averages sit at a measly 2.6 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.
Although the Bucks are taking back two players who can boast greater production than he has shown this year, make no mistake about it, this deal is not centered around on-court production. Milwaukee’s front office realized it made a mistake, and it managed to find a trade partner who was willing to let them move on without unnecessarily painful consequences.