Milwaukee Bucks: 3 questions going into trade deadline day
We’re less than 24 hours away from this year’s trade deadline and all is quiet on the Milwaukee Bucks‘ front.
The Bucks have already made their big splash ahead of the deadline by acquiring veteran forward P.J. Tucker from the Houston Rockets last week and Tucker is slowly finding his footing in Milwaukee at this point. By acquiring Tucker, the Bucks filled a big need that will make them more versatile and adaptable come playoff time.
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While the biggest domino has fallen for the Bucks, general manager Jon Horst has remained aggressive in fine tuning the Bucks’ roster and he still has some assets and avenues to acquire pieces to fill out the Bucks’ evolving roster.
So without further ado, let’s explore some of the pressing questions that remain for the Milwaukee Bucks going into Thursday’s trade deadline.
Are the Milwaukee Bucks still active on the trade market?
After making the Tucker deal, the Bucks still have some holes to fill, the biggest being the backup point guard spot behind Jrue Holiday. Milwaukee sent out their biggest free agent signing from the offseason, D.J. Augustin, in the deal for Tucker after he had struggled to find lasting consistency over his brief stay in Milwaukee.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe ($$) reported earlier this week that the Bucks remain active in trying to find a reserve guard that can spell Holiday and will do so either via trade or buyout.
While the Bucks are very limited in what they can do with trade in terms of their assets, they have a number of second rounders they can part with to entice teams in potential trade packages. The most alluring is likely the second round pick the Bucks just acquired from the Rockets in the Tucker trade that is currently 32nd overall for this year’s NBA Draft.
There is also the matter of the $4.88 million trade exception the Bucks generated in the Tucker deal that they can use to acquire a player, which will be at their disposal until March 19 of next year.
The bigger question left remaining is what salary do the Bucks have to shed in a possible deal that will still keep them out of the luxury tax, which was made possible by the Tucker trade. Rodions Kurucs’ $1.78 million salary could be used in this regard, but that also limits what the Bucks can get back in return as well.
There’s no question the Bucks will continue to be active in talks, but it’s far from guaranteed they continue wheeling and dealing, even as they look to make a move on the margins.