Milwaukee Bucks: 3 trade suitors to watch for ahead of the trade deadline

Second suitor for Milwaukee Bucks to watch for — Sacramento Kings

It may still be an icy subject for the Bucks and the Sacramento Kings to discuss trades, given how everything went down in the Bogdan Bogdanovic fiasco.

But that hasn’t stopped the Bucks from apparently having interest in one of the most rumored trade targets this season, that being Nemanja Bjelica. After being cast out of the Kings’ rotation for much of the season, Bjelica has recently come back in the fold for head coach Luke Walton just as the Kings have slid out of playoff contention considerably.

Bjelica offers the Bucks, or any team for that matter, a true frontcourt floor spacer, the kind of archetype that Milwaukee has specifically identified in each of the last two seasons at or after the trade deadline.

Much like Tucker, though, the Bucks will have trouble putting together an attractive trade package to match Bjelica’s expiring $7.15 million salary, especially with a line of suitors reportedly interested in the Serbian international. The Athletic’s Shams Charania ($$) noted last week that the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics are among known suitors for Bjelica.

While some Bucks fans may wonder if the skill set that Bjelica offers is what they truly need to contend for a bid to this year’s NBA Finals, he’s certainly someone that can give more size and shooting within their system.

It’s also here where it should be noted that the Bucks reportedly kicked around scenarios of absorbing Harrison Barnes at the time of their reported interest in Bogdanovic over the offseason. The only problem, though, is that the Bucks have less expendable salary to work towards matching Barnes’ $22.2 million salary this season without significantly shaking up their core. But that matter is neither here nor there.

Like the Rockets, the Kings have fallen out and stand as one of the more notable sellers with attractive trade pieces. With their roster about to get very expensive, the Kings under first-year general manager Monte McNair may go into asset accumulation mode over the next couple of weeks.