Milwaukee's starting to be linked to a number of available stars, but one simple math problem keeps killing the Trae Young conversation before it starts: salary.
Over Bleacher Report's Insider Notebook, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Bucks could target Trae Young in hopes of keeping Giannis happy. It makes sense on its face: Milwaukee should be looking at everybody if they want to keep their franchise player in town.
The thing is, the Bucks are most likely to be actively shopping around in a very specific price range, and Young doesn't fit.
"You have to think that Milwaukee is considering that. I just don't know if he'd be worth all the salary to stagger up to get to him. I see Milwaukee more shopping around the $35 to 38 million ballpark for player contracts as opposed to having to gut multiple guys from their rotation," Fischer also said.
A Trae Young trade causes more problems than it solves for the Bucks
The Bucks are targeting the $35-38 million tier. Trae Young makes $46 million. That's not a matter of reluctance or fit concerns but a mathematical impossibility without completely destroying the roster.
Getting to $46 million in matching salary means Milwaukee would have to package multiple rotation players just to make the trade legal. Ultimately, that would leave the team worse off and hardly upgrade an already guard-heavy roster. Swapping one good player for several useful ones, even if Young's talented, just isn't the move to make if you want a player like Giannis Antetokounmpo to stay in Wisconsin.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: even if the money worked, Young would be a worse fit than Damian Lillard ever was. Offensively, Young might actually complement Giannis better than Dame did. He's a floor general who makes everyone around him better, while Dame was primarily a pure scorer.
But the main drawback is that he's another player who needs the ball in his hands to be effective. The Bucks already have that in Kevin Porter Jr., while Ryan Rollins would still need his minutes.
On the other side of the ball, adding Young makes Milwaukee actively worse. It's well documented at this point that the Atlanta Hawks are doing better without Young on the floor. Part of that is because he's a massive liability that opponents would hunt relentlessly in a playoff series.
Getting to $46 million will more than likely mean trading multiple rotation pieces on top of Bobby Portis. That bench scoring disappears entirely, leaving Milwaukee even more dependent on its starters without the depth to survive injuries or foul trouble.
Fischer's reporting suggests the Bucks understand this reality. They're shopping in a price range that's actually feasible without roster destruction. Young's salary puts him outside that window, which effectively kills the conversation before it starts.
The math, fit, and timeline all don't work. A Trae Young to Milwaukee trade is a fun hypothetical that might keep Giannis in town on paper but just dies the moment anyone looks at actual salary numbers and roster construction.
Milwaukee needs to stay focused on the $35-38 million range, where they can actually make impactful moves without destroying everything else. Chasing Young would be the same mistake they made with Dame: sacrificing fit and depth for star power that doesn't translate to winning basketball.
One number is blocking this trade, and that's probably for the best.