Wheeling, dealing isn’t for Bucks this year
Drastic changes unlikely before trade deadline
It’s trade deadline week in the NBA. With the cut-off for deals set at 2 p.m. Thursday, there’s sure to be plenty of rumors, speculation and probably some fireworks in the coming days.
If you plan on constantly refreshing your Twitter feed anxiously checking to see if the Milwaukee Bucks are going to be involved in the action, you can probably put your phone down and do something else.
With the best record in the NBA (42-7) heading into Tuesday’s 6:30 p.m. clash with Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center, the Bucks are in no rush to make drastic changes before Thursday’s deadline.
General manager Jon Horst and his staff have continued their annual practice of doing their homework and probing for potential deals, but that doesn’t mean they will – or feel they even should – actually consummate one this week.
“From my perspective and my job, of course, we’re studying the numbers, studying the culture, studying everything – the medical, the physical of the team, it’s a holistic approach – to see where we can make some gains, some improvements,” Horst said on Sunday. “I think we’ll be incredibly patient and specific and intentional if we do something. More than likely (we won’t).
“We really like the group that we have and want to stay focused on it, trusting the chemistry and the continuity and the development this team has had and the additions we made over the sum
mer, which were significant additions.”
The group the Bucks have has yielded historically great numbers. Milwaukee, ranked first in defensive efficiency and second in offensive efficiency, is on pace to become just the third team to reach 70 wins during the regular season. The Bucks’ point differential of plus-12.4 will be the best in league history if they can keep it up over the final 33 games – a tall order but not out of the question.
Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has been even better this season, averaging 30.0 points, 13.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists in just 30.7 minutes per game. His player efficiency rating (32.6) stands to be the best all-time for a single season.
A huge part of the Bucks’ success is how well all their pieces fit together. Horst and the Bucks bet on continuity this summer, bringing back Khris Middleton – now a two-time all-star – Brook Lopez and George Hill in free agency.
Coach Mike Budenholzer’s scheme and every player in it was carefully curated to fit both around Antetokounmpo and outside of him, leading the Bucks to an incredible plus-14.4 net rating when Antetokounmpo is on the court and an even more impressive plus-9.7 when he sits. Their net rating without Antetokounmpo is better than every NBA team’s overall net rating.
The locker room is filled with amiable, veteran players who have bought into the system.
“I think it’s paramount,” Horst said of maintaining the team’ chemistry. “It’s the fabric of the team, the makeup of the individuals and how they fit as a group. You can define that as chemistry or culture, but I think it’s a big factor in how good we are.
“We’re also incredibly talented. We have the best player in the NBA, the best coach in the NBA, we have a great supporting group, but I think that’s a big factor – how much they like each other and how they fit with each other.”
Last year, the Bucks also went into the trade deadline as the best team in the NBA. They sent out Thon Maker, Jason Smith and four second-round picks in return for getting Nikola Mirotic from the Pelicans for the remainder of the season.
It was a move that was a whole year in the making. Milwaukee used an exception to take on Jodie Meeks from the Washington Wizards in exchange for a second-round pick. They grabbed another second-round pick from Washington along with Smith’s salary in the three-team deal that netted them Hill.
In order to even get Mirotic, the Bucks needed to find a player the Pelicans valued more than Maker, so Horst looped in the Detroit Pistons by sending Maker there and rerouting Stanley Johnson from Detroit to New Orleans.
If the Bucks are going to make a move this year, that’s the kind of trade they might find interesting. Of course, every team would like to take under-utilized players and excess picks and turn those into a ceiling-raising rotation player.
The Bucks also are in a very different situation from last year roster-wise, especially among players toward the end of the bench. Smith was never part of the future and Maker had been around long enough for the Bucks to discern he wasn’t the right fit.
This year, the guys who aren’t playing all still have some long-term value either as contributors or trade pieces. D.J. Wilson is under contract for another season and has shown flashes while on his rookie contract. Sterling Brown has played valuable playoff minutes in the past and will be a restricted free agent this summer.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo demonstrated the energy he can bring when he started Friday’s game. And it also wouldn’t be a great idea to trade Giannis’ brother and confidant heading into a summer when Giannis is eligible to sign a supermax extension.
Dragan Bender has spent most of his time in the G League but is on a teamfriendly, non-guaranteed minimum contract for next year and could be valuable in the future.
The mechanics of making a deal happen are also difficult. In the NBA, teams need to match salaries – or get very close – in trades. With eight of their 15 players making less than $3 million this season, the Bucks would have a hard time stacking enough salaries to match a possible target player making significantly more, especially since their returning starters aren’t anywhere close to being on the table.
Meanwhile, the Bucks’ core members
– Giannis Antetokounmpo, Middleton, Eric Bledsoe, Lopez and Hill among others – are under contract for at least one more season. Outside of Antetokounmpo, the other four are on multi-year deals.
Connaughton in dunk contest: The NBA is going to #LetPatDunk in Chicago over All-Star Weekend.
Bucks reserve guard Pat Connaughton has been selected for the popular NBA dunk contest, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The contest is held the night before the annual NBA All-Star Game, in this case Feb. 15 in Chicago.
Connaughton is one of four players lined up for the competition thus far, joining Orlando’s Aaron Gordon, Lakers big man Dwight Howard and Miami’s Derrick Jones Jr.
Since Connaughton’s entry was not official, the Bucks couldn’t comment directly on his participation.