Milwaukee Bucks: What do they have to offer in a James Harden trade?
By Dalton Sell
Piecing together an adequate trade package for James Harden will be a tall task for the Milwaukee Bucks, given the financial specifics.
The Milwaukee Bucks have been making substantial moves this offseason, and they might not be done just yet.
First reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania Thursday morning, Houston Rockets’ guard James Harden added the Milwaukee Bucks to a list of preferred teams he would like to be traded to. The 31-year-old has been determined to play on a contending team that is not Houston, and seeing Milwaukee on his list is surely captivating.
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It goes without saying that Harden is, without a doubt, one of the NBA’s top stars. Pairing him alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo would form a lethal tandem of the MVP winners in the past three seasons, and there are plenty of reasons why the team should consider making a move.
However, given the financial obstacles, piecing together any package for Harden is far easier said than done. To pull off the blockbuster, the Bucks would have to match Harden’s $41.3 salary for next season, but there are some specifics.
As stated by The Athletic’s Eric Nehm ($$), the Bucks cannot include players they signed or traded for this offseason, as that is against the rules until February 2021. Adding in either of their rookies is also off the table, which would impact their proximity to the hard cap.
With all that taken into the equation, the Bucks are left with Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Donte DiVincenzo, and D.J. Wilson. While a deal including the latter trio may appear to work financially on paper as their combined salaries add up to $40.6 million, Nehm points out that is not the case.
The $610,000 difference between Harden’s deal and the Bucks’ three is the deal-breaker and cannot work due to salary cap rules. Adding in the rookie deals for Sam Merrill or Jordan Nwora would be the most logistical fix, but as previously mentioned, Milwaukee cannot do that without creating more obstacles.
Is there any way that the Milwaukee Bucks can get James Harden despite all of the hurdles?
Yes.
Any deal involving James Harden will see Khris Middleton and the $33.1 million owed next season get traded to the Houston Rockets, but it will also have to include Brook Lopez, per Nehm. Lopez will make $12.7 million next season, and their combined salaries would be required to land Harden, taking all things into account.
That is just from Milwaukee’s side of things, however. While shipping out Middleton and Lopez is feasible financially, it is an offer that likely will not gauge Houston’s interest. As ESPN’s Tim MacMahon wrote last month, Houston’s asking price for the eight-time All-Star is hefty:
"“The Rockets are demanding an especially steep return for Harden, a perennial MVP candidate who has led the NBA in scoring the past three seasons: a proven, young star as a centerpiece along with a massive picks package, according to sources.”"
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That claim from MacMahon might put an end to the Harden-to-the-Bucks speculation, given Milwaukee’s depleted asset haul after the Jrue Holiday trade saw them give up a king’s ransom of draft picks.