The logic in the Milwaukee Bucks trading for rumored target Cedi Osman
As Fischer noted in his piece, there are very few two-way wings currently on the trade market, and Osman is among them. If the Bucks are looking to shore up their wing depth before the deadline, the 26-year-old would be a feasible target in that regard.
Offensively, Osman is having a solid season by averaging 10.8 points while shooting 35.4 percent from 3-point range on a career-high 5.7 attempts per matchup. Osman could be a big piece to add to a bench unit that has struggled to contribute. Milwaukee’s bench ranks 29th in points and 19th in 3-point percentage this year, numbers that have hurt the team drastically. Considering that the DiVincenzo, Hood, and Ojeleye trio is contributing a combined 12.8 points per game this season, a player like Osman that is nearly putting up better numbers by himself would help.
Defensively, Osman is not the most reputable player, but he is versatile at 6-foot-7. He is certainly not on the level of P.J. Tucker, but he could be a useful piece when the Bucks square off with other top wings across the league and they need a bigger body to throw at them. Though many would argue that he is not a better defender than DiVincenzo, he is better than Ojeleye and Hood, who cannot even get off the bench for the Bucks most nights.
As for the trade package itself, there is some clear benefit on Milwaukee’s end, but it could also be enticing for Cleveland. Due to season-ending injuries to Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio, Cleveland is missing two key pieces in the backcourt, and a promising two-way guard like DiVincenzo could be someone they see as a piece to help fill the void as they jockey for position in the East. Ojeleye and Hood would simply be throw-in players here, as they are two expiring veteran contracts.
To some extent, Milwaukee’s interest in Osman is justifiable.