Milwaukee Bucks should avoid making blockbuster trades

With the February 6 trade deadline rapidly approaching, the Milwaukee Bucks have some decisions to make in regard to how they can improve their team. One thing they should avoid is making a blockbuster trade.

Rumors have been swirling around this Milwaukee Bucks team for a couple of years now, but with the expectations this team has, those rumors have only been amplified further.

Despite Bucks GM Jon Horst coming out and thoroughly denying any trade rumors, specifically ones involving Eric Bledsoe, the rumors will continue to swirl.

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It makes sense for such rumors to occur, because the Bucks have two polarizing players in Bledsoe and Khris Middleton as key supporting pieces. Bledsoe has now had two consecutive postseasons where he’s failed to show up in the biggest moments, and for Middleton, many believe he isn’t good enough to be the second option on a championship team.

I’m here to say that moving either one of these guys in a blockbuster trade would be foolish.

Let’s just take a moment to analyze where this Bucks team currently stands. They are a league-best 40-6 and are on pace to win 71 games. If they accomplish that, they would become the third team in NBA history to reach the 70-win milestone.

To go along with their league-leading number of wins, the Bucks also lead the association in a number of other categories. Take a breath before you read this, because it’s going to be a long one. Here they are: points per game, plus/minus, defensive rating, net rating, defensive rebound percentage, effective field goal percentage, true shooting percentage, pace, and player impact estimate. And that’s just the beginning!

If you dive a little deeper, you’d also see that the Bucks lead the league in opponent field goal percentage, opponent effective field goal percentage, opponent field goal percentage in the restricted area, and much, much more.

Are you bored yet?

As if that isn’t impressive enough, did I mention that the Bucks have six players in the top-10 for both defensive rating and net rating? Or that they have the reigning MVP, and he’s even better this year? I think you get where I’m going with this; the Bucks are really good.

So why in the world would anyone want to shake that up? Well, there are some good reasons going back to what I said earlier about Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton. Bledsoe’s postseason struggles are real, and for Middleton, whether his disrespect from fans is warranted or not, there’s no way for him to actually prove that he’s a good enough second option other than to help Milwaukee win the championship.

I believe that these guys are good enough to help the Bucks win it all, and the only other options to make the team better either aren’t available or wouldn’t be worth it anyway. Let’s look at those options so I can explain why that’s the case.

The three highest profile trade targets on the market as they relate to the Bucks’ needs and their potential availability are: Chris Paul, Jrue Holiday, and DeMar DeRozan.

Chris Paul, the 14-year NBA vet, is having a very solid season with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Averaging 17 points, 6.4 assists, and 5 rebounds per game, Paul has thrust himself into the All-Star conversation in the tough Western Conference. After he was traded to OKC from Houston for Russell Westbrook, many people wrote him off. Since then, he’s done nothing but prove people wrong.

However, my concerns with Paul aren’t about basketball; they’re about his personality and his contract. Paul has had his fair share of problems with teammates in the past. He’s an uber-competitive guy, and that can rub people the wrong way. I have no doubt that he’d enjoy playing with a guy as competitive as Giannis, but there’s no telling how he’d mesh with the other guys.

Financially, he would be a huge burden on the Bucks. He’s currently on the second year of a four-year deal worth an almost unfathomable $159,730,592. He makes $38.5 million this season, and it goes up to $41.3 million next year, and $44.2 million in 2021-22. The $44.2 million in the final year is a player option.

In a recent interview with Rohan Nadkarni of Sports Illustrated, Chris Paul was asked if he would help facilitate a trade to create another super team by opting out of that last year. His exact response:

"“No chance. That’s not happening. Nope.”"

That’s a ton of money to pay for a point guard who would be 36 years old by the final year of his deal. I’d much rather live and die with Bledsoe, who is four years younger and makes less than half the money.

It’s just not worth it to make a Paul trade and risk losing the incredible chemistry this team already has.

Jrue Holiday is a much more appealing option in my opinion. Holiday, now in his 11th season, has been playing at an All-Star caliber level for three straight seasons. I do believe he would be an upgrade at point guard, and if he were available, that would be the only deal worth making. But that’s the issue; he’s most likely not available.

According to Christopher Dodson of Forbes.com, in an in-game interview on Tuesday, December 17, Pelicans GM David Griffin said:

"“Everyone wants to believe that Jrue (Holiday), JJ (Redick), or Fave (Derrick Favors) would be available because we are not winning, and that’s natural. But, the reality is nothing has changed our position at all. I think back quite often to the fact that when we were in Cleveland, everybody knew we were a buyer, so everybody said we were interested in people. People identify us as a seller now because of our results, and nothing factual has taken place at all.”"

There should be no reason for that to change now as the Pelicans are beginning to find their footing. They’ve won 11 of the last 17 games and they’re only four games out of the 8th seed. Plus, they’re only going to get better; Zion Williamson made his long-anticipated debut on January 22. Having him back in the fold will be huge for the Pelicans playoff chances.

All that being said, it looks quite unlikely the Pelicans would be willing to part with Holiday just yet.

Lastly, we come to DeMar DeRozan. For some, DeRozan may be able to provide an upgrade from Middleton, but that depends on what you think of Middleton, who is having an absurdly good season.

DeRozan is an absolute stud when it comes to scoring the ball. He’s an under-qualified number one option and an over-qualified number two option. As great as Middleton is, he still has issues carrying the Bucks when Giannis is struggling; DeRozan could handle that load. He’s been on an absolute tear in the last ten games, averaging 25.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists.

However, I have three issues with a potential DeRozan deal. One, he has a player option for next year, so he could opt out and become a free agent at season’s end. Two, he’s two years older than Middleton. And three, it would be risky to trade your second-best player when the team is playing so well. What would Giannis think of that?

I like the sense of security I get knowing that the Bucks have Middleton under contract for the next 4 years. That means if Giannis signs the extension, he’s guaranteed to have an All-Star next to him. DeRozan could leave after this year. That’s not a risk I’d be willing to take, and I don’t see Jon Horst taking that risk either.

The moral of the story is that the Bucks are already good enough to win the title, and any type of move that could jeopardize that would be senseless. Of course, some moves could be made around the edges, but the core must stay intact.

For even more knowledge on why a blockbuster deal may not—and should not—be in the works for the Bucks, I recommend you read this article written recently by our site expert, Adam McGee. He gives great insight on why the Bucks need to continue planning for the future instead of making a rash decision at the deadline.

Look for that to be the case as the Bucks try to continue their dominance this season.