Ranking Bleacher Report's fresh mix of trade targets for the Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks are back to their winning ways, but this roster is by no means a finished product.

The top teams in the Eastern Conference are still all but destined to clash in the playoffs, and with the pieces and depth available on teams like the Cavaliers and Magic, it's still quite difficult to imagine the Bucks handily making it all the way to the Conference Finals, even if they're certainly in the mix to do so with their trio of stars. The stout competition they're bound to face simply is what it is.

Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz recently floated three potential trade targets for the Milwaukee Bucks in a recent piece imagining trade targets for each team in the association. For the Bucks, those names were Tyler Herro, Jerami Grant and Dillon Brooks.

Each name admittedly carries its own intrigue, offering distinct skill sets to bolster Milwaukee’s title hopes. Herro has established himself as a burgeoning star on the offensive end, while Grant and Brooks offer a lot of two-way versatility with their size and skill.

Feasibility aside, on its face, the article does have some merit in that those three names would do the Milwaukee Bucks a lot of good if the front office were to somehow land them.

But how do these players rank when factoring in their fit, the Bucks' roster needs and the feasibility of making these trades? Let’s break it down.

1. Jerami Grant – The perfect puzzle piece

If the Bucks are determined to maximize the Antetokounmpo-Lillard era, a player of Jerami Grant's caliber might (at least in theory) be the ideal third option.

Grant is averaging an incredibly inefficient 16.1 points per game on 38.1 percent shooting this year, but he's doing so from all three levels while generally maintaining his reputation as a versatile defender who can switch across multiple positions. Opponents have shot 84-of-192 (43.8 percent) with Grant as the closest defender, which is pretty good when you factor in the offensive load he also has to carry for the upstart Blazers.

The Bucks desperately need a two-way wing who can score efficiently and hold his own defensively against the league’s top forwards. Khris Middleton is obviously someone who gives them that in spades, but that's only when he's on the court. In this scenario, Grant’s ability to complement both Giannis and Dame would ease the offensive burden on the stars while shoring up a defense that has slipped to start the season.

However, trading for Grant would come at a steep cost. Portland would likely ask for Khris Middleton and draft assets. Still, if the Bucks are all-in on winning now, Grant’s fit makes him the best option out of the three pushed by Bleacher Report.

2. Tyler Herro – The youthful reset option

At 24 years old, Tyler Herro represents an intriguing mix of current production and future promise.

Herro is enjoying an excellent year with 23.6 points, 5.1 assists and 41.3 percent shooting from three, making him one of the league’s most efficient scoring guards at the moment. He's playing with a superstar's confidence, draining difficult shots night after night with complete ease for the Heat.

The idea of swapping Damian Lillard for Herro, as Swartz suggests, is an interesting one. While it may seem counterintuitive to trade Lillard so soon after acquiring him, the move would drastically reshape the Milwaukee Bucks' timeline, keeping Giannis happy with a younger, dynamic running mate.

But here’s the catch: the Bucks just overhauled their roster to pair Lillard with Giannis. Trading Lillard after just a year feels improbable unless the team bottoms out in spectacular fashion. Plus, Herro’s defensive limitations could create a new set of challenges for Milwaukee.

There's likely no chance such a trade happens at this point, but as far as trade pitches go, you could do a lot worse than Tyler Herro. There's also the Wisconsin connection to think about, which would probably be great for the team's culture.

3. Dillon Brooks – The defensive edge

Dillon Brooks may be polarizing, but his fit with Milwaukee’s needs is undeniable. The Bucks have lacked an edge on defense this season, and Brooks brings exactly that. He’s holding opponents to 40.3 percent shooting as a primary defender and provides the grit that’s been missing on a team transitioning from the disciplined schemes of Mike Budenholzer to Doc Rivers’ more fluid approach.

Offensively, Brooks is enjoying a bit of a bounce-back season, shooting 37.6 percent from deep—neither elite nor pedestrian, but just enough to keep defenses honest in this league while spacing the floor for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard to commence their attacks from up top.

The problem? Acquiring Brooks could prove challenging given his strong start and veteran stature with Houston, where the Rockets are unlikely to part with him unless overwhelmed by an offer. The Milwaukee Bucks simply do not have the assets to make it happen, so it's curious that this name was even included in the article.

The verdict

Never mind that the actual pathway to pulling off a trade for any of these names is murky at best. If the Bucks are gunning for a title this season, Jerami Grant stands out as the best fit for this writer, if he only didn't come at the cost of Khris Middleton.

He fills Milwaukee’s glaring need for a two-way forward who can score and defend at a high level. This, while his constant availability makes him a slight upgrade over Khris Middleton’s declining production, even if it is a lateral move at best.

Tyler Herro, while extremely compelling at this point in his career, feels more like a contingency plan should the Milwaukee Bucks decide to pivot toward a youth movement. It's true that he would fit Antetokounmpo's timeline a lot better than Lillard can, but making such a move would also mean that the Antetokounmpo-Lillard pairing would have been for nothing.

Dillon Brooks, on the other hand, is an intriguing wild card whose defensive toughness would address key weaknesses, but at the end of the day, he no longer brings anything to this roster that names like Taurean Prince and Andre Jackson Jr. don't already have. Sticking to youth and building from within is objectively the better and more sustainable option at this point in time, and trading for Brooks would only be another stopgap measure ala Jae Crowder.

Ultimately, the Milwaukee Bucks front office will need to weigh their priorities: maximize the present or hedge for the future. Either way, these names prove Milwaukee has options—it’s just a matter of what path they choose.

Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.