Milwaukee Bucks: Assessing the East landscape after the trade deadline

Mar 17, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports)
Mar 17, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports)
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MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – MARCH 20: (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – MARCH 20: (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

The trade deadline has come and gone and the real work is only beginning for the Milwaukee Bucks.

They remain in hot pursuit of top seed in the East and have been playing some of the best basketball as of late, despite seeing their eight-game win streak come to an end Friday night.

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Still, the Bucks no longer stand as the favorites coming out of the East and while they had made their own big move ahead of the trade deadline, they saw many of their biggest rivals and potential playoff matchups load up with some interesting additions.

Whether said additions will work out or not remains to be seen and that will also be true of what the Bucks and how they will proceed on the buyout market as well.

So without further ado, let’s recap the busy action that unfolded on trade deadline day and examine where the Milwaukee Bucks stand as of this writing.

The Milwaukee Bucks’ trade deadline activity was headlined by their P.J. Tucker move.

The Bucks’ work was taken care of well before the deadline frenzy we saw unfold Thursday after having made their big move P.J. Tucker a week prior.

Tucker has only gotten has feet wet since arriving to Milwaukee and making his Bucks debut only a week ago. However, the defensive aptitude that Tucker has shown in limited minutes and has quieted plenty of questions as to how much he has left in the tank.

Dealing for Tucker while offloading supporting contributors who either didn’t have a role in the rotation (Torrey Craig, D.J. Wilson) or struggling to make a consistent impact (D.J. Augustin) shored up the Bucks’ depth in a considerable way. They aren’t done yet either, especially as they have the buyout market to turn to to fill out the pair of roster spots that are currently vacant.

On that note, there has already been plenty of noise between the Bucks and veteran guard Austin Rivers, who got dealt to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a three-team deal Thursday afternoon. While expectations of a buyout have surfaced, it has yet to occur as of this writing.

Still, the Bucks have found their stride and the bulk of their work has already been done dating back to last offseason. Whatever further additions they make in the following few weeks will fortify their ever-evolving depth.