The Bucks’ crowded backcourt is already causing problems with allocating minutes, and Gary Trent Jr’s controversial contract only makes it worse. If Milwaukee wants to give GTJ a proper path to rehabbing his value, they may need to make a trade and ship out AJ Green.
Green is a valuable role player that can help out his fellow guards, no matter who’s on the floor with him. His shooting makes him a natural fit in just about any roster. But that’s also what makes him a great trade candidate and a roadblock to giving Trent more minutes.
Trent will be held back by Green
The Bucks will need some veteran leadership this season heading into a rebuild, which might have helped inspire the contract for Trent. Regardless of how he performed last season, he’s still an 8-year veteran with experience on multiple teams. Trent has made the playoffs with three different franchises and also seen each of them reach low levels.
His recent showings haven’t proven worthy of his 4-year/$64 million contract extension this offseason, but Trent can reach that level again. In his first season with the Bucks, Trent arguably lived up to that value by averaging 11 points per game and shooting 42% from three on 6 attempts per game.
For the upcoming season, Trent should naturally be buried under Green on the depth chart. Both have shooting as their strongest trait, but Green is undeniably the better marksman. Last season, Green hit 42% from deep on 7 attempts per game. In comparison, Trent only nailed 36% on 5 attempts per game.
Green might be on his way out anyways
AJ Green has an incredibly valuable skillset in today’s NBA because of his boldness and accuracy shooting threes. He’s also solid enough on defense to avoid being a huge liability, which would be important in a playoff setting. There should be plenty of interest in him from contending teams needing another shooter.
Two prime examples are the nearby Pistons and the Rockets, both of whom win games through tough defense and tough shot-making from their stars. Adding Green as another shooting threat would boost both of their offenses without taking too much away from their defense either.
If Green does get traded for a solid future asset, the Bucks could wind up with a win-win situation if Trent has a revenge campaign. A Green trade will give Trent more opportunities to rediscover his best form. In the best case scenario, the Bucks would eventually be able to get trade assets back for Trent too.
Essentially, Milwaukee wants Trent to have a similar reputation around the league as Green. But the only way to reach that reality is to trade Green and give Trent a proper chance at playing a big role.
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