Milwaukee Bucks: 4 players to target in the trade market

Milos Teodosic

This one is more personal for me because despite only being in the NBA for one season, Milos Teodosic is one of my favorite current players. The 31-year-old Serbian came over from Europe last season to the Los Angeles Clippers and proceeded to drop dimes on everyone.

Teodosic plays as a combo guard and is known for dizzying and flashy passes. He also became known for having one of the most prominent neckbeards ever seen.

The dude looks like he should be getting punched in the face by Liam Neeson in a Taken movie. However, the Serbian veteran can ball, as his NBA highlight reel can verify. Keep in mind that, because of injuries, Teodosic only appeared in 45 games for the Clippers.

The Ricky Rubio comparisons are easy, with both being from Europe and offering incredible passing vision and ability. Teodosic isn’t as good a defender as Rubio, but he is a better shooter, hitting 37 percent from three last season.

With Teodosic, the Bucks would have a veteran guard coming off the bench who knows how to facilitate as well as score. And, he could easily slide into starting lineups and help set up easy buckets for Giannis, Middleton and even Bledsoe.

The tricky thing with Teodosic is working out a trade with the Clippers. Los Angeles probably doesn’t want to move on from Teodosic, but his contract is up after this season and with their eyes set on bigger free agents, they’re likely to see him walk.

So, instead, why don’t they try to get something for him? The Bucks could be willing, but the big wrench in a deal would likely be Danilo Gallinari.

The Clippers have reportedly been shopping Galinari in their pursuit of Jimmy Butler, but considering his contract is still worth over $20 million for each of the next two seasons, the Clippers may be open to other deals that see the Italian forward land elsewhere.

The Bucks could put together a package that includes Dellavedova, John Henson and Tony Snell that would make it feasible for Teodosic and Gallinari to come to Milwaukee.

Why would Milwaukee do this? Well, they get out of the Dellavedova, Snell and Henson contracts, which are worth over a combined $31 million in the next two seasons, and Snell has another year after that worth another $10 million.

Plus, I mentioned the benefits that Teodosic could bring to the team, and who knows, maybe Gallinari can actually put together a healthy season and return to his Denver Nuggets form. (I am aware that this is extremely unlikely.)

Mainly though, the Bucks would get Teodosic for this season, maybe longer, and better cap flexibility in the years ahead.

Why do the Clippers do it? Well, it may seem counterintuitive to trade one bad contract for three less bad but still undesirable contracts, but there is a payoff to that. Gallinari’s contract is incredibly difficult to move, while Dellavedova, Henson and Snell’s should be easier to move individually.

With the Clippers trying to position themselves as a free agent and trade destination, having just a little more flexibility could be huge.

Proposed trade: Clippers receive Matthew Dellavedova, Tony Snell and John Henson for Milos Teodosic and Danilo Gallinari