How Kyrie Irving’s sudden trade request impact’s the Bucks’ deadline plans

For months, the Milwaukee Bucks have been in hot pursuit of Jae Crowder after he requested a trade from the Phoenix Suns.

After many months, it seemed like talks were gaining steam lately. The Athletic’s Shams Charania (Subscription required) recently reported that the Bucks and Crowder had a meeting, which was likely to discuss his current conditioning state and contract status. To Charania’s knowledge, they were the only team that has been granted permission to speak with the disgruntled veteran thus far. Just when it felt like the wheels might start turning on a Crowder trade, some major news in the NBA broke and may have thrown a wrench into those plans, for now.

How Kyrie Irving’s sudden trade request impact’s the Bucks’ deadline plans

In a separate report, Charania stated that Brooklyn Nets’ star guard Kyrie Irving has requested a trade from the team. Shortly after, Charania followed that up by saying the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, and Dallas Mavericks could emerge as potential suitors. If the Suns are truly in the mix for Irving’s services, that could cause problems for the Bucks’ hopes of landing Crowder.

If the Suns were to acquire Irving, Crowder would almost positively have to be in the deal. Not only does it seem inevitable that the team will move him before the deadline, but his salary would be a valuable piece in a deal if the Suns tried trading him alongside Chris Paul. All of that is speculation, but a Crowder and Paul pairing, along with picks, seems like justifiable framework in an Irving deal. Obviously, if Crowder were dealt to Brooklyn, that would be problematic for Milwaukee.

Of course, it is not inevitable that the Suns will get Irving. The Lakers are Mavericks are two other teams who have been mentioned as suitors, and more will follow. It should not be ruled out either that the Nets just play out the rest of the season with Irving on the team. In that sense, Crowder to the Bucks still has a pulse, but things just got more complicated compared to a few days ago when it seemed like the former Marquette athlete would inevitably be coming back to Wisconsin.

Ultimately, while Crowder seems to be Milwaukee’s top target, it seems like they have been ready for a scenario like this to arise. Per Yahoo! Sports’ Jake Fischer, the Bucks have been scoping out the trade market for players like Jae Crowder who can play defense at a high level and make the same amount of salary. While he did not mention any names, two that came to mind were Kelly Oubre Jr. and Robert Covington. Both would give the Bucks a big wing defender with experience, but neither has officially been linked to the team this season.

For now, the Bucks are seemingly still full steam ahead in their pursuit of Crowder and will stay on course unless the Suns make a move. In that case, the team would have to do some scrambling to other targets, but it seems like they have some options lined up just in case.

Stay tuned to see if Irving’s trade request impacts the Bucks’ 2023 NBA Trade Deadline plans.