Currently, the odds of the Milwaukee Bucks making a trade before the start of the season seem slim.
They seem content with their current 15-man group and want to see how they play together. Yet, as the season progresses and the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline inches closer, they will certainly be among the teams looking to make an upgrade, as they always do. When it comes to targets, Bleacher Report writer Greg Swartz recently posed three, including Jordan Clarkson, Kris Dunn and Keon Ellis.
Let's analyze three potential trade packages involving these players coming to the Milwaukee Bucks.
A trade involving the Bucks and Jordan Clarkson
First and foremost, it has to be said that any trade involving Jordan Clarkson coming to Milwaukee is pretty unrealistic.
Due to second apron restrictions, the Bucks cannot combine salaries in any trade. That means that they would have to trade away one of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton or Brook Lopez to absorb the guard's $14.1 million salary. Obviously, the top three are safe, and recent reports suggest that Lopez is off the table in trade talks as well.
Still, even if the Bucks were willing to make this deal, Clarkson doesn't fit the current construction of the roster at all. He's a nice player, but Milwaukee doesn't exactly need another microwave scorer off of the bench; they need defenders, and Clarkson is not that. Trading away one of their top defenders for Clarkson would certainly be a headscratcher, even with the second-round pick.
The deal makes more sense for the other two teams, as the Jazz add a pair of draft picks and two players who could be flipped in a future trade for more assets. The Rockets were known to make a strong run at luring Lopez away from the Bucks in 2023 free agency, and this particular trade would allow them to get the big man that previously slipped through their fingers.
Any Clarkson trade will look awkward on Milwaukee's end due to the salary restrictions, and this is just one primary example.
A trade involving the Bucks and Kris Dunn
This trade proposal is much simpler than the last one for the Milwaukee Bucks. To add Kris Dunn and his 2024-25 $5.2 million salary to their roster, the Bucks could move Pat Connaughton's $9.4 million salary, along with a 2031 second-rounder, to the LA Clippers.
Dunn, who many people wanted the Milwaukee Bucks to get this past offseason, would make plenty of sense in the 414. The backup guard has been able to stick in the NBA due to his defense, hounding his matchup consistently while forcing steals at a high rate. Dunn and Delon Wright would be a lethal defensive duo off Milwaukee's bench, proving to be a nightmare for opposing backcourts.
Meanwhile, Connaughton has taken a mighty step back over the past two seasons, and it's not overly far-fetched to think he's Milwaukee's likeliest trade asset. While the Clippers won't be banging down the Bucks' door to get him, perhaps they could see some desirability in adding him and that pick at the deadline, depending on how things shake out during the first few months of the season.
If the Milwaukee Bucks do make a trade before the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline, it will almost certainly be something along these lines. Rather than shaking up the core of the roster, they will likely opt to make a move around the edges, and Kris Dunn would be a nice pickup in that regard to beef up their defensive personnel.
A trade involving the Bucks and Keon Ellis
With a $2.1 million salary for this coming season, trading for Keon Ellis would not force the Bucks to gut a significant portion of their roster. Instead, perhaps they could keep their core intact by offering MarJon Beauchamp, who will make $2.7 million in 2024-25, and the rights to swap their 2031 pick in the first round, which could certainly be an eye-catching add in.
There's plenty to like about Ellis. He's a 6-foot-6 guard who constantly hustles and makes plays on the defensive end while shooting 42.2 percent from three throughout his first two seasons. He'd be a seamless fit in Milwaukee, providing defensive help on the perimeter, particularly in lineups alongside Damian Lillard, where Ellis could remove sizeable pressure off of Lillard's shoulders.
For the Kings, this would be all about getting their hands on that first-round swap. With Milwaukee being one of the oldest teams in the league, there's no telling how they will look in 2031, and they could very well be in a rebuilding phase, making that pick incredibly desirable. Beauchamp would be a fine throw-in piece to make salaries match, giving the Kings more wing depth with Ellis gone.
Moving that pick for a youngster in Ellis may seem like a lot to give on Milwaukee's end, but he's the type of player who would fit perfectly with this roster. If the team wants to go all in, this could be the move they need to beef up their defense further.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.