NBA Free Agency 2017: One trade every team should make
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks echoed Wisconsin’s dense forests when they built their factory of tree-limbed basketball players. This team’s trajectory puts them on the ascent to contend for the Eastern crown.
They deploy the most untouchable/incredible/”are we sure he’s not an alien?”/”how are his arms THAT long?”/”wait, he just got to the rim from halfcourt in three steps!” player in the league, in Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Thon Maker is an embryonic unicorn, who is just scratching the surface of his what he can become. Khris Middleton can definitely be the third-best player on a championship team. And Malcolm Brogdon was a great second-round find. Plus, they still have Jabari Parker, though he’s not the ideal second-banana for Antetokounmpo.
While Parker is a great scorer, he’s a ball-stopper who plays suspect defense. He looks like this generation’s Carmelo Anthony, which is meant as both a compliment and an insult.
The playoffs exposed their need for another assertive presence. While we all love Jason Terry and his unflappable confidence, the 39-year old vet shouldn’t be your crunch time answer in elimination games. Milwaukee should find a secondary creator and keep adding to their collection of pterodactyl wingspans in the process.
The Jazz find themselves in a tough spot. They could be losing their leading scorer to free agency and start toppling down the Western ladder as a result. Parker would mitigate the effects of that and give them a new player to build around. Just three years removed from being taken second overall, someone will take a chance on Parker’s pedigree and chalk up his pair of ACL tears as bad luck.
Donovan Mitchell isn’t a pure point guard, but in Milwaukee, he wouldn’t have to be. He just needs to take pressure off Giannis, create some shots for others, and knock down an open look every now and then. He already has the requisite ridiculous wingspan to fit in with the Bucks.
Injuries and ineffectiveness have kept Dante Exum off the court a lot in his short career. Still, he’ll be 22 this July and was once called the Australian Kobe Bryant. Maybe the relief from the constraints of living up to that comparison will help jostle loose some magic for him. He’d also be another long guard for Milwaukee to add to their arsenal.