3 things to watch as Milwaukee Bucks begin trip vs Portland Trail Blazers

Any pre-trade deadline nerves for the Milwaukee Bucks ahead of the trade deadline?

There already wasn’t a ton of suspense around this game, but at least the Blazers had a few solid rotation pieces that could give the Bucks trouble at either end. Now, it’s about getting out to a big lead and being able to rest guys for tomorrow against the suddenly-revamped Clippers.

So, let’s look a little big picture and since the Blazers may have opened the floodgates, the trade deadline is only a few days and the Bucks have been engulfed with rumors to try to fine-tune their roster for a championship defense.

Covington was someone that was linked to the Bucks and there was much speculation if he would be the guy to fill the “big wing, P.J. Tucker role” for them to give more size in lineups with Antetokounmpo at center. That, uh, isn’t going to happen now!

The Bucks’ best trade chip, DiVincenzo, has been thrown in every fake trade imaginable to get any number of players that could hypothetically help them win the title again this season. That speculation has to be getting into his head a little bit and could explain some of his struggles since returning (but it’s mostly recovering from a serious injury).

They shouldn’t be in any rush to shove DiVincenzo out the door for just anything, though. According to Zach Lowe in the most recent episode of his podcast, he mentions that they could get a first-round pick for DiVincenzo but that doesn’t help them win now.

It would be wise for them to hang onto DiVincenzo unless they get exactly what they want in return. There was a recent report that the Bucks wanted to extend DiVincenzo this past offseason and would still like to (if he’s not dealt for an upgrade).

They value what DiVincenzo brings to their championship repeat hopes this season and beyond, so it will be interesting to see how they approach this deadline and if they find a deal that’s to their liking.

The deadline is coming up fast and there will be a sigh of relief from all involved once the dust settles and there are no more rumors to get worked up about.