The Milwaukee Bucks will look for wing depth before February’s trade deadline.
The decision by General Manager Jon Horst to run it back was good in theory, but the last month has shown us that without All-Star shooting guard Khris Middleton, this team is less than formidable, and with him, at least a top-three seed in the East.
Do Milwaukee’s problems run much deeper than Middleton being out? Let’s run through it.
Milwaukee has struggled shooting the basketball from outside this year. The Bucks have a 34.3 shooting percentage from three, which ranks 20th in the NBA. Last season, they shot at a 36 percent clip during the regular season and 32 percent during the postseason.
Getting a consistent outside shooter should be the first item for a trade. A guy who can help space the floor for Giannis will be paramount for Milwaukee to compete for a championship. Who is that outside shooter to help Milwaukee in the upcoming months?
Enter Bojan Bogdanovic.
Bogdanovic is having a career year for the Detroit Pistons by averaging 21.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 41 games.
Bogdanovic is shooting at a 41.8 percent clip from three for Detroit and has picked up the offensive slack in the absence of young star Cade Cunningham.
Why Bojan Bogdanovic would be a good fit with the Milwaukee Bucks
The goal is to try and win championships every year during Giannis Antetokounmpo’s prime, and that is accomplished by maximizing the players they put around him.
Milwaukee needs guys who can stretch the floor and consistently shoot the three.
The underrated aspect of Bogdanovic’s game is he can put the ball on the floor and take on guys in the paint. Bogdanovic has shot 53 percent on two-point attempts this season and 51 percent for his career.
A guy like that would be a great fit in Milwaukee, but there are downsides to making a deal for Bogdanovic.
Detroit wants to keep him as they see him as a guy who is a veteran presence in the locker room. Detroit has reportedly asked for a first-round draft pick in any trade talks regarding Bogdanovic, per Yahoo! Sport’s Jake Fischer.
Since Detroit and Milwaukee are in the same division, why would Detroit help Milwaukee by giving up one of their premium players? It’d be difficult to see that. These two teams haven’t traded with each other since Detroit acquired Thon Maker at the 2019 trade deadline.
Finding good shooters is hard, especially at the deadline. Remember JJ Redick? Milwaukee traded for him at the 2013 trade deadline, and Redick could never find his stroke from the three-point line as he only shot 32 percent from three. This goes to show you that good shooters in the NBA are hard to find and are a dime a dozen.
What’s not hard to find are guys who you know will go the extra mile for your team to win; every player has that in them but adding a rugged guy like Jae Crowder would be a welcome fit for this team.
In back-to-back playoff series losses to Toronto in 2019 and Miami in the bubble in 2020, something was missing in Milwaukee.
Toughness.
Milwaukee didn’t have any guys on the roster who exuded toughness. Enter Bobby Portis, who signed as a free agent in Milwaukee in 2020 and has since become the fan favorite and emotional leader for Milwaukee. You know Portis will always go to war for his guys, but adding another player like that in Milwaukee would be fun to watch. Crowder is a guy who will never back down from a challenge and would complement the team well.
Crowder hasn’t played all season, as he’s waiting for the Phoenix Suns to find a trade partner for him. Last season, he was one of the key players for the Suns as he averaged 9.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. Crowder is a career 34 percent 3-point shooter and shot 39 percent from the field last season.