Milwaukee Bucks: Should a potential Bradley Beal trade be explored?

Why the Bucks should not trade for Beal

All the reasons I just mentioned for why Beal would be a tremendous asset and addition to the Bucks also goes for numerous other NBA teams who have probably already placed calls to Washington about the shooting guard.

Teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers or Clippers, or the Houston Rockets, or New Orleans Pelicans or Brooklyn Nets are just a few that come to mind. If the Wizards are serious about trading Beal, there’s going to be a long line of suitors.

Also, considering the bounties teams have recently received for trading stars, from the San Antonio Spurs dealing Kawhi Leonard to the Minnesota Timberwolves trading Jimmy Butler, the asking price is going to be steep.

Beal may not be the same caliber of player as Leonard or Butler, but he’s still very good, is younger and has a better contract so teams don’t have to worry about him leaving next summer. Plus, although this may change in the proceeding weeks, Beal hasn’t tried to force his way out like Leonard or Butler.

Even though the cat is out of the bag for the Wizards about their willingness to entertain offers for Beal, they still have a lot of leverage. All of this means that the Bucks would have to pay a high price to make a deal.

As mentioned already, it’s hard to imagine the Bucks getting Beal with a trade package that doesn’t at least include Bledsoe, but realistically, it would likely require a player such as Malcolm Brogdon, Thon Maker or Donte DiVincenzo too. And that’s before considering draft picks.

If the Wizards are trading Beal and Wall, it’s because they’re hitting the reset button and looking to rebuild, which means they want future assets. Bledsoe isn’t old, he turns 29 in December, but he’s not young enough, or even good enough, to be a player a team can build around in rebuilding mode.

Brogdon turns 26 in December (it’s crazy that Beal, who has played five more NBA seasons, is younger than Brogdon), so he’s not exactly a young piece to build around. And, like Bledsoe, he could bolt this summer if he doesn’t like the vibe of the franchise.

The Wizards are going to want future assets, mainly in terms of draft picks and young players. The Bucks have some young players in Maker, DiVincenzo and maybe Sterling Brown that could interest the Wizards, but it’s hard to imagine the Wizards couldn’t find better players in a deal from another interested team.

So, unless Bucks general manager Jon Horst pulls a Daryl Morey and offers the entire farm for Beal, it’s likely the Bucks would have to find a third team to get involved to fill the gaps.

But before getting into all of that, are we absolutely sure the Bucks should even try for such a blockbuster trade? Milwaukee is off to its best start in decades and is looking primed for a top seed in the East while also boasting the best net rating in the NBA.

Bledsoe and Brogdon, for all their faults, are huge parts of what has made the Bucks so good so far this season. Is it worth blowing up that chemistry and potential for Beal? My gut would say he’s worth the risk, but it’s still a discussion worth having. If it ain’t broke, why fix it?

I mentioned before that trading for Beal would mean being able to focus on Middleton’s upcoming contract negotiations, but there is a downside to that. Beal is owed a lot of money on his contract, $25 million this season, which rises to $27 and $28 million in the remaining two seasons.

It wouldn’t be unreasonable for Middleton to see the Bucks paying that much money to Beal, who just arrived in Milwaukee, and be offended if they won’t offer a payday like that to him. I don’t think Middleton holds grudges or is resentful, but little things like that can derail negotiations, if Middleton gets frustrated.

Even if the Bucks do trade for Beal, and also sign Middleton to what will almost certainly be a huge contract, that would mean a lot of cap space will be tied up in Giannis, Beal and Middleton. Is there enough left over for Brogdon or any other high-quality role player?

It’s a question that general manager Jon Horst and the Bucks’ management have to consider before throwing themselves into trade negotiations. A Giannis-Middleton-Beal core would be a top-notch group, but it would leave the Bucks solidly cash-strapped for a couple of years unless Horst is able to trade away some other contracts and finagle some cap space.

All of this is to say that as immediately exciting as it would be if the Bucks were somehow to pull of a trade to land Beal in Milwaukee, it isn’t automatically going to make the Bucks better in the long run. I think it probably would, but I have been wrong many, many times.

It’s an interesting situation, and the Bucks have shown themselves to be aggressive suitors when it comes to trades (see, Bledsoe last season) and even free agents in their attempt to build a championship-level team around Giannis, but there are a lot of dynamics and consequences to consider.

Should the Bucks trade for Beal? If you ask me, the short answer is yes, but it won’t be easy and could backfire if they’re not careful. But when you have a star like Giannis, you can’t assume he’s going to stay forever and need to swing for the fences when players like Beal become available.