5 Trade targets the Bucks can pivot to after shocking Alex Caruso deal

Bruce Brown

The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor recently floated the idea that the Bucks should explore a trade involving a swap of Brook Lopez and Toronto's Bruce Brown. With O'Connor noting that the Bucks would like to shake up their defensive mentality a bit moving forward, possibly bringing in a do-it-all wing such as Brown would indeed have its share of positives.

Above all else, Brown can play strong defense against a wide variety of players, slowing them down mightily on the perimeter. Of course, this Milwaukee team needs that more than anything. He would not be the typical big wing defender, as he stands at just 6-foot-4, but he's capable of taking on the tough assignments, even if they are bigger than him.

If the Bucks want to switch like crazy defensively, something that O'Connor's nugget hints at, Brown would be a dream fit. With Lopez, the Bucks were somewhat shackled in that regard due to his need to primarily play in the drop, but Brown could open things up mightily. When Milwaukee goes small with Giannis Antetokounmpo at center, Brown would fit seamlessly in those lineup combinations.

On top of the defense, he's capable of rebounding, facilitating, shooting and just about everything else one can do on the basketball court. He showed these traits primarily with the Denver Nuggets during the 2021-22 season, when he helped them win an NBA title. The hope would be that he'd do the same thing for the Milwaukee Bucks.

The big thing with Brown is that when the Toronto Raptors pick up his team option, which seems like it will happen any day now, he'll be on the books for $23 million next season. That's somewhat stiff for a non-star, but if Milwaukee truly wants to become more versatile defensively, following through with O'Connor's proposal and swapping Lopez for Brown could make sense.