Milwaukee Bucks: Trading for Chris Paul would mirror Oscar Robertson deal
By Adam McGee
With rumors suggesting the Milwaukee Bucks may pursue a Chris Paul trade, it’s hard not to think back to Oscar Robertson and the championship that followed.
As the Milwaukee Bucks officially fell short in this season’s playoffs in recent days, they find themselves in a familiar spot, albeit one that they haven’t necessarily been in for 50 years.
In Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks have a generational talent at the forefront of their roster, and with that they have a clear and open path to a potential title for one more season, at the very least.
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Therefore, it was no real surprise that, hot on the heels of Milwaukee’s current season coming to an end in disappointment, the Bucks were among the teams linked with interest in pursuing future Hall of Fame point guard, Chris Paul, this offseason.
Perhaps most interesting of all, though, is the fact that this is an approach the Bucks have taken before. In fact, it led to their sole championship back in 1971.
At that juncture, Oscar Robertson was an aging point guard who had achieved almost everything there was to achieve in the NBA, with the notable exception of winning a title. In fact, the similarities between Robertson and the 10-time All-Star and 8-time All-NBA current iteration of Paul are striking.
For years, Paul’s history of never quite getting over the line in the playoffs has followed him around, lingering over his legacy and somewhat undermining what should be a deserved reputation as one of the absolute greatest point guards to ever play the game.
Beyond that, Paul’s demanding nature, as a teammate and consummate professional, has been a frequent source of scrutiny when his teams have fallen short. Paul may well be more competitive than any other player in the league, but that has also fed into a perception that he can be difficult or abrasive at times.
At 35 years old, Paul’s time to change that narrative is clearly running out, but Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton could offer him the opportunity that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bob Dandridge gave to Robertson.
Back in 2017, I wrote about how arriving in Milwaukee allowed The Big O to add the missing piece to his remarkable career. What’s striking is just how much the below excerpt from that article could easily be something written about Paul today:
"“It’s easy to see how one of the greatest point guards to ever have played the game could have been viewed if he retired without a championship. Already known for having a big — and often bristling — personality, an array of glittering individual honors but a lack of the ultimate team success would certainly have left a mark on Robertson’s legacy.”"
Robertson was the counter balance needed for Abdul-Jabbar, and Paul is theoretically an excellent fit to provide the same for Antetokounmpo.
By the same token, though, the ultimate pitfall of the Robertson deal would apply equally to the Bucks if they were to acquire Paul. Sure, Robertson and the Bucks both got their championship, but his age meant they only won one before everything started to crumble and Abdul-Jabbar eventually moved on to Los Angeles.
A deal for Paul may well be the kind that’s required to take advantage of the Bucks’ current window of opportunity, but it would also come at an incredibly high price, and one that could make their overall opening for success all the more short-lived.
The prospect of actually completing a deal for Paul is incredibly complicated, particularly when it comes to matching salaries without including Middleton, and therefore making a deal that’s worthwhile in the first place. But as a thought exercise, there’s a lot to be intrigued by about the idea of Paul joining the Bucks, even at this age.
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If the Bucks do press on with the intention of making a deal for Paul in the months ahead, they should be sure to consider their own history in weighing up the potentials pros and cons of going that route.