Milwaukee Bucks Rumors: Bucks said to have had interest in Kyle Korver, C.J. Miles

As free agency approaches, details have emerged suggesting the Milwaukee Bucks were targeting Kyle Korver and C.J. Miles prior to Jabari Parker‘s injury.

With almost no cap space heading into free agency, it’s not exactly surprising that things have been a little on the quiet side in terms of Milwaukee Bucks rumors.

The Bucks’ top priority is undoubtedly going to be trying to retain Tony Snell in restricted free agency, and from that point on they’ll largely be operating with exceptions and veteran minimum offerings.

According to a report from Sean Deveney of the Sporting News, the Bucks’ offseason could have been much more ambitious, though.

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Deveney outlines how Jabari Parker’s injury has scuppered much of the leverage and flexibility the Bucks reportedly hoped to have this summer, and highlights Kyle Korver of the Cleveland Cavaliers and C.J. Miles of the Indiana Pacers as players they had expressed interest in signing.

"“They’d hoped to boost the backcourt, and there were indications they had interest in Cavs guard Kyle Korver as well as Pacers guard C.J. Miles. Keeping Snell, though, will push them close to the tax. A deal involving Parker might have allowed them to clear out some cap room by attaching another big contract — Mirza Teletovic, for example — but instead, the Bucks will work within a thin margin.”"

Deveney reports the Bucks were considering including Parker’s name in trade talks around the trade deadline, but his season-ending ACL injury on February 8 ultimately put an end to that idea.

"“That was just two weeks ahead of the league’s trading deadline, which was significant because league sources told Sporting News the Bucks were considering including Parker in potential trades at the deadline.‘His name definitely came up, and it was obvious they’d have a steep price, but they were willing to talk about him,’ one league executive said.”"

This thinking suggests that a healthy Parker could again have been utilized in summer trade talks, and even been bundled with one of the team’s worse contracts in order to create meaningful cap space.

Somewhat unsurprisingly considering Parker’s injury history, Deveney feels that ship has long since sailed:

"“Even if he does bounce back, you’d be hard pressed to find a team willing to give up much for a guy whose left ACL has gone under the knife twice before he turned 22.”"

While concerns over Parker’s fit alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, and his potential inclusion in trade talks aren’t exactly new, there may also be a flaw in the logic of suggesting anything the Bucks might have wanted to do at the trade deadline would still stand now.

In the time since that idea may have been put in place, John Hammond, Justin Zanik and Billy McKinney‘s departures from Milwaukee have dramatically reshaped the look of the franchise’s decision-making team.

Korver and Miles both seem like sensible and obvious targets for the Bucks — and would still be if they manage to clear cap space — but we don’t know whether they’d be the preference of Jon Horst, or even how exactly he feels about Jabari Parker’s future.

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As a result, so much of what could unfold over the coming weeks seems uncertain for the Bucks. If they could create some space via trades in the coming days, they could still certainly do much worse than pursuing either Korver or Miles. In all likelihood, the Bucks’ summer won’t be anywhere near as exciting as that, though.