Milwaukee Bucks must call Golden State Warriors about new eye-catching trade rumor

With the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline just over a month away, rumors are starting to hit the airwaves, and the Milwaukee Bucks should be very interested in one involving the Golden State Warriors.

According to The Athletic's Tim Kawakami (Subscription required), though Wiggins recently signed a new contract with Golden State, that might not be a major dealbreaker in terms of wanting to test the trade market on him. That doesn't mean he's outright available, but it means that perhaps he may be for the right price. The Bucks should make a call to test the waters immediately.

Milwaukee Bucks must call Golden State Warriors about new eye-catching trade rumor

Though Milwaukee's defensive struggles have particularly been an issue this year, the team has been hindered by a lack of a legitimate wing defender for several years now. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Jimmy Butler have wreaked havoc on this team over their last two playoff runs due to this, and the Bucks still don't have a clear-cut answer this season. Getting Wiggins could surely help.

The 6-foot-7 forward is as versatile as they come, as he's able to defend a handful of different players and positions when called upon. This was evident in the 2022 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, where Wiggins held the trio of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White to 26-of-81 field goal shooting (32.1 percent), per NBA.com. It undoubtedly doesn't get much better than that.

Wiggins' defense would help the Bucks tremendously this season, giving them a perimeter defender who's not afraid to take on the toughest assignments, but he's also no slouch on offense. Over the previous three years, Wiggins averaged 17.7 points while shooting 47.2 percent from the floor and 38.9 percent from deep. He'd make Milwaukee's offense even stronger moving forward.

While there are plenty of positives with Wiggins, it must be said that he's been in a slump this year and that he's currently having the least-productive season of his career. However, even if he's in a slump, primarily offensively, he's still a worthy target for the Bucks due to the defense he brings and how much this team needs it at the moment.

Wiggins is in the first year of a four-year, $109 million deal with Golden State. With a $24 million salary this season, Wiggins would be on the higher end of trade targets for the Bucks in terms of price tag. To make a deal work, the Bucks would likely go the route of including Bobby Portis, Pat Connaughton, and a minimum salary (MarJon Beauchamp, A.J. Green, Chris Livingston, Robin Lopez, etc.).

The Bucks would almost certainly have to include what little draft capital they have left as well.

Fans can debate whether that would be worth it, but one has to consider whether or not the Warriors would even consider that trade either. Given Wiggins' slump this year, it's more likely than it normally would be, but it's still not a guarantee. All the Bucks can do is kick the tires if they are interested. He is one of the handful of targets Milwaukee should be monitoring.

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