Milwaukee Bucks: 5 veteran guards that could be trade targets
Milwaukee Bucks: 5 veteran guards that could be trade targets – Patty Mills
After missing the NBA Playoffs for the first time in 24 years, the San Antonio Spurs are seemingly set to embrace their long-gestating rebuild. There’s some major questions on that front centering around players such as LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan, but it extends down to veterans such as Patty Mills.
Mills is entering the final year of his contract and is owed $13.2 million next season and with the Spurs having plenty of young, developing guards such as DeJounte Murray, Lonnie Walker IV and Derrick White, he could be made expendable for something in return. All of this is coming after San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich held out Mills for all of their eight seeding games in the bubble during the season restart.
By that same token, offering Bledsoe straight up in exchange for Mills, while working financially, doesn’t really solve San Antonio’s crowded backcourt problem nor is the fit all that conducive for the Spurs, given Bledsoe’s shooting deficiencies. Again, draft picks will only sweeten up a deal.
From a Bucks perspective, adding a player of Mills’ experience and skill set would solve some problems for the Bucks, especially offensively. The Aussie is certainly a willing and proficient 3-point gunner as he’s a career 38.9 percent 3-point shooter. What you trade off with Bledsoe’s length and defensive aptitude, Mills’ speed and effort can be a handy asset when defending at the point of attack.
Make no mistake, Mills serves as a downgrade to Bledsoe in terms of overall talent and he doesn’t ultimately solve the Bucks’ playmaking problem, though his reliability and change of pace attributes are a nice advantage. With George Hill currently serving as the Bucks’ second guard, there’s plenty of overlap between what both veteran ball handlers bring to the floor.
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Trade offs will have to be made if the Bucks do indeed make a shakeup with Bledsoe and their core overall and the answers to those questions all add to the dilemma of trying to improve their roster in such an uncertain offseason.