What is the hold up in the Bucks’ pursuit of Jae Crowder via trade?

The Milwaukee Bucks’ interest in trading for Jae Crowder has been there for several months now, but with the trade deadline days away, nothing has transpired.

Despite Crowder sitting out, the Phoenix Suns have played the long game as they seemingly want to wait it out until the deadline clock strikes zero. They will soon have to make a huge decision and move the veteran elsewhere, as keeping him would be a disastrous move. The Bucks remain the most interested team in Crowder, but despite their persistent pursuit, there still has not been a trade. Some recent reports may have revealed why.

What is the hold up in the Bucks’ pursuit of Jae Crowder via trade?

The Athletic’s Shams Charania (Subscription required) recently reported that the Bucks’ offer for Crowder right now involves George Hill, Jordan Nwora, and second round draft capital. However, the hold up right now appears to be that the two sides are looking for a third team to get involved because the Suns want a forward to replace Crowder. Though Nwora and Ibaka are forwards, the Suns are likely looking for a player who fits Crowder’s archetype better.

Charania’s reporting should not be too surprising, considering that the Bucks and Suns have been involved in several rumored three-team trade proposals in recent memory. Charania (Subscription required) reported in December that the Bucks and Suns were close to getting a deal done with the Houston Rockets, but Houston backed out. Per Yahoo! Sports’ insider Jake Fischer, the Bucks and Suns were discussing a deal with the Washington Wizards that involved Rui Hachimura, but the Wizards sent him to the Los Angeles Lakers instead.

The Bucks and Suns have badly been trying to get a third team involved here, but they just have not had the luck thus far.

With the deadline approaching, teams across the league are bound to start getting more active. The Bucks and Suns will certainly continue to call around the NBA to find a third team to get into their Crowder trade talks. If they can find a team with a tradeable forward that the Suns like, the Bucks could get the wheels turning on a Crowder trade once and for all. If not, these two teams could very well settle on Charania’s proposal above. Right now, it seems like everyone is going to wait it out until the deadline, but General Manager Jon Horst will seemingly not sleep until his team lands Jae Crowder.

Stay tuned to see if the Crowder saga ends with the veteran power forward coming to Milwaukee.