It's clear that the Milwaukee Bucks' current starting five might not be built to last. With AJ Green and Gary Trent Jr. on the wing, Milwaukee is undersized, leaving them vulnerable defensively and on the glass. Inserting a legitimate small forward into the mix for one of those two would be a worthwhile next step, but Taurean Prince, the logical option, isn't available now.
Bucks' options to tweak starting five are limited
Eight games into his season, Prince is set to be out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to address a herniated disc in his neck. There's no telling when he will be back in the mix, so the already undersized Bucks have even fewer options to address their need for size. Both in the starting lineup and off the bench, Doc Rivers now has some tough decisions to keep this Milwaukee Bucks team afloat.
Naturally, many would pitch swapping in the bigger Kyle Kuzma for Trent or Green. While Kuzma has played well with the starters, he's also found a great rhythm as a bench piece. He understands his role far better as a complementary piece when he's a reserve. When he starts, there is a sudden change in mindset, where he starts reverting back to his Washington objective, trying to be a go-to player.
How about Amir Coffey? He has a few inches of height on both Trent and Green, making it possible that he could give opposing forwards trouble defensively. However, Coffey's performance this year has been nothing short of lackluster. He's averaging just 1.5 points and 1.2 rebounds while hitting 14.3 percent of his threes. Rivers, even if he trusts Coffey, cannot ask a player like that to start.
They could make a trade to beef up the small forward spot, but it's unlikely it will come anytime soon. A sizeable chunk of the roster cannot be traded yet due to free agency rules. Once that restriction is lifted, the thought of addressing this need becomes far more realistic. Always active, Jon Horst, the general manager, is likely already scouting the trade market for help.
With Prince out, the Milwaukee Bucks are likely stuck for the time being. They simply have to hope that Green and Trent can avoid constant foul trouble against these bigger players. There is no clear-cut fix to the team's rebounding, where they rank 27th in the NBA. Prince wouldn't have been a guaranteed fix, but it could have been a worthwhile experiment for the Bucks.
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