With Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, and Bobby Portis all departing this summer, AJ Green is officially the longest-tenured Milwaukee Bucks player. That'll take some getting used to. Well, maybe. With an overflowing roster, especially in the backcourt, there is at least a chance Green could be dangled on the trade market leading up to the opener for a variety of reasons.
Green is among Bucks' reasonable trade candidates
There is no telling who it will be, but it would be shocking if the Milwaukee Bucks didn't part ways with at least one guard before the season to trim two spots from the roster. No one is saying Green is not an ideal rotation piece and should be booted. In fact, it's the opposite. He has enough value that he's one of the trade chips they have that could net them actual value in return.
Let's say that Ryan Rollins, Tyler Herro, Brayden Burries, Kasparas Jakucionis, and Kevin Porter Jr. are all staying put, which seems likely. That leaves Green, Caris LeVert, and Gary Trent Jr. as trade chips. Though he's on an expiring deal, teams won't beat down the door for LeVert after the quietest year of his career. Trent's new contract is so baffling that the NBA is investigating it.
Probably no takers for either player. Green, on the other hand, would be of interest to contenders far and wide. He's one of the best outside shooters in the entire league, is a better defender than he gets credit for, and is about to take home a reasonable $10.8 million this season. All of those factors make it at least somewhat plausible that the Milwaukee Bucks could ponder floating his name around.
Bucks shouldn't just give Green away to anyone
Despite the roster crunch, the Milwaukee Bucks certainly would need to set an asking price for their young sharpshooter. He's far too good to just give up just for roster room. Fetching a first-round pick likely wouldn't be realistic, but if the Bucks could snag a few seconds while clearing a spot, that could be worth exploring.
It would absolutely sting to see Green go, given that he has been one of the few positive takeaways for the Milwaukee Bucks since his tenure began. However, the NBA is a business, and sometimes teams have to make tough decisions. There is obviously no telling how the Bucks will trim the roster at this point, but AJ Green's name coming up in the discussion would be far from surprising.
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