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

Marcus Smart

With the Boston Celtics landing Jrue Holiday last season, many Bucks fans wanted ex-Boston guard Marcus Smart to level the playing field. Milwaukee's front office apparently tried to make that happen, as Yahoo Sports' NBA insider Jake Fischer reported the Memphis Grizzlies did receive a phone call from the Bucks about trading for him, but the former declined.

Since Caruso is now off the market, the Bucks should give the Grizzlies another call. Smart would fit right in with this team, giving them the defensive ace they have been longing for in the form of one of the best defenders in the league. A three-time All-Defensive honoree and one-time Defensive Player of the Year winner, he knows a thing or two about guarding the opposition.

With a $20.2 million salary for next season, this is another deal where the Bucks would have to move on from Brook Lopez. As said with Brown, moving Lopez for an ever-versatile defender like Smart is the type of move that could allow this team to experiment with endless defensive schemes. For one of the best guard defenders out there, it's worth calling about.

Like Holiday in Boston, one would think that Smart would be fired up about the opportunity to go against the team that traded him, especially given the status of these two title-contending teams.

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