Milwaukee Bucks Rumors: Bucks have shown interest in Kyrie Irving

While many fans have been dreaming of the possibility in recent weeks, reports suggest the Milwaukee Bucks have indeed shown interest in Kyrie Irving.

Kyrie Irving’s trade request was always a moment that threatened to re-shape part of the NBA’s current power structure, and according to recent reports, the Milwaukee Bucks are among the teams who’ve at least reached out to the Cleveland Cavaliers about making a deal.

There’s been little movement in terms of constructing a deal in recent weeks, and as Adrian Wojnarowski explained in an in-depth article on the situation for ESPN, that has much to do with Cleveland’s uncertainty over LeBron James‘ long-term future with the team.

Wojnarowski lists the Spurs, Celtics, Knicks and Bucks as four teams who have already expressed an interest in a deal for Irving, but the Cavaliers have very specific aims for what they want the return of an Irving trade to look like.

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"“Cleveland is determined to get an elite young player for Irving, which means this: The trade plan the Cavaliers would have prioritized, with James committed for the long term — veterans to surround James and draft picks — isn’t in motion”"

As for how that applies to Milwaukee, Wojnarowski explains:

"“Milwaukee has shown interest in Irving, too, league sources said, but there isn’t that one young star — of course, Giannis Antetokounmpo is untouchable — who makes sense for Cleveland.”"

While this will be disappointing to Bucks’ fans, it also shouldn’t be all that surprising. While the likes of Khris Middleton, Jabari Parker, Malcolm Brogdon and Thon Maker are all intriguing young players, none of them are bona-fide, undoubted stars.

Parker may be closest to fitting the bill of what the Cavaliers are looking for in return for Irving, but with his now extensive injury problems that isn’t a risk that any team is going to consider taking on in exchange for a proven All-Star at this point.

Essentially, the Cavs want to find someone with the potential to be a legitimate star, and if the Bucks currently had a player outside of Antetokounmpo who fit that bill, they’d have no need to consider trading for Irving in the first place.

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Of course, this doesn’t mean the Bucks are completely out of the running when it comes to landing Irving. If they do want to pull off a deal, though, it would almost certainly require a third team to be involved and for the Bucks to be willing to part with a truck load of future assets.

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