After years of speculation, the Milwaukee Bucks finally pulled the trigger on a trade that cut ties with franchise legend Giannis Antetokounmpo, and it’s sure to usher in a new era of Bucks basketball.
In the trade with the Miami Heat, Milwaukee got back a blockbuster-caliber haul, with former All-Star Tyler Herro, high-upside youngsters in Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks, one pick swap, and one second-round draft pick.
The Bucks, despite parting ways with Antetokounmpo, should still want to be competitive over the next couple of years. They don’t own the rights to any of their draft picks, and have no incentive to tank.
Is there another move Milwaukee could make to get back some of the star power they lost in the Antetokounmpo trade?
Bucks Trade Proposal Lands Ja Morant
In a trade idea proposed by The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie, the Milwaukee Bucks would land former All-NBA point guard Ja Morant, who the Memphis Grizzlies seem incensed to move on from.
Milwaukee Bucks receive: Ja Morant
New Orleans Pelicans receive: Myles Turner and Taylor Hendricks
Memphis Grizzlies receive: Kyle Kuzma, Jordan Poole and a protected future Pelicans first-round pick
Landing Morant is an exciting prospect for the Bucks, but one of the biggest draws of this trade would be dumping the salaries of Myles Turner and Kyle Kuzma, two players who cost Milwaukee just under $200 million in total contract earnings.
“This deal solves a lot of problems for all three teams. The Bucks get to take a low-cost flyer from the Grizzlies in Morant, costing them Kuzma and Turner,” wrote Vecenie.
“The Bucks are entering a rebuild, but my guess is that they would like to sell tickets during that rebuild, too. Morant is exciting and would help with that. Plus, they remove Kuzma from the roster and get off an extra year of Turner’s long-term money while saving $5 million in the process.”
Adding Morant to the mix would give the Bucks an offensive orchestrator they don’t currently have.
Herro handled the ball some in Miami, but isn’t a facilitator the way Morant can be. If the financials work for all three teams, this deal makes a lot of sense.
Should the Bucks Want Ja Morant?
Now, there is the question of whether or not the Milwaukee Bucks should want to add a player like Morant to the mix.
After all, why are the Memphis Grizzlies so dead-set on getting rid of their former All-Star?
Well, there are several contributing factors. For starters, he hasn’t been able to stay healthy in recent years and has played in only 79 games over the last three seasons.
Add in the fact that Morant has only two years remaining on his current deal, and the prospect of extending the former No. 2 overall pick has given teams cause for concern.
For the Bucks, though, what do they have to lose? Taking a flier on a player like Morant would cost them nothing outside of shedding salary, and if he happens to play well next season, they could try to flip him for more future assets entering the final year of his contract.
It’s a low-risk, high-reward move for Milwaukee, and one they should consider.
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