The Milwaukee Bucks have made their way into the biggest storyline of the NBA offseason so far. Shams Charania of The Athletic (subscription required) reports that the team inquired with the Nets in late June and early July to gauge the price tag for Durant. While there’s no indication that Milwaukee gained any traction on a deal for Durant, calling shows that they’re at the very least curious about the possibility.
Reactions to Milwaukee Bucks showing interest in Kevin Durant
Without digging deeper into what it would mean for Milwaukee’s roster structure, a deal for Durant sounds great. However, after looking at what Minnesota had to give up for Rudy Gobert, a trade for Durant doesn’t seem like it would be worth it for the Bucks.
Minnesota acquired Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz shortly after the 2022 NBA Draft. Minnesota received Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz in exchange for guards Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley, and forward Jarred Vanderbilt, along with guard Leandro Bolmaro, the draft rights to center Walker Kessler and Minnesota’s 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029 first-round picks and a 2026 first-round pick swap. If a team can receive all of that for Rudy Gobert, one can’t even imagine what Brooklyn’s asking price for one of the best players in the NBA would be.
Due to their lack of draft capital, Milwaukee would likely have to give up Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, or both in a deal for Durant. There would also have to be some role players involved, so getting Durant would be addition by subtraction by obliterating their depth.
The primary reason that the Bucks have been as successful as they’ve been over the past few seasons is because of their depth. The primary example of their depth coming into play was seen during their championship run in 2021. Milwaukee endured multiple injuries throughout the 2021 postseason, including starters Giannis Antetokounmpo and Donte DiVincenzo.
After Donte DiVincenzo went down with a season-ending ankle injury, the team needed to find role players to step up. Veterans P.J. Tucker and Pat Connaughton emerged as playoff heroes for the Bucks by making the most of their increased workloads. Bobby Portis also stepped up for the team following Antetokounmpo’s injury, starting the final two games of the Conference Finals against Atlanta. Portis’ energy was the driving force behind Milwaukee being able to stay the course without Antetokounmpo and advance to the NBA Finals.
The Bucks would sacrifice a lot of that depth if they were to actually pull the trigger on a move for Durant. While I wouldn’t be complaining about it because they would receive a player of Durant’s caliber, I still would be slightly skeptical due to my large belief in the importance of depth.
The Bucks have found a way to win the last few years by having complementary stars and role players alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo. They won the championship in 2021 and proved that you don’t need an entire team of superstars to compete for a title in the NBA. I’m just an analyst, but if the Bucks want my opinion, I’d advise them to keep doing things the way that they’ve been doing them.
Stay tuned to see what comes out of the rest of the Bucks’ offseason or any Kevin Durant news.