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NBA rumors: Bucks exploring Grayson Allen trades ahead of NBA Draft

The Milwaukee Bucks are openly exploring the trade market for that one guy everybody hates. Grayson Allen is the NBA’s lingering homage to the grimy toughness of 1990s basketball. He hustles his tail off and he’s unafraid to toe the line between determined and dirty on the defensive end.

Most fanbases have had their fill of Grayson Allen, but he makes for an enjoyable energizer and a lovably hard worker when he’s actually on your team. Allen started 70 of 72 appearances for the 1-seed Bucks last season, averaging 10.4 points on .440/.399/.905 splits. His shooting acumen is naturally important when one considers the lack of volume shooters on the Milwaukee roster.

Unfortunately, the Bucks were treated to some of Allen’s worst basketball in the team’s first-round loss to the Miami Heat. Allen can be a liability on the defensive end despite his fiery edge and he doesn’t create many advantages offensively when the jumper isn’t falling. Now the Bucks are looking to trade him according to Jake Weinbach.

The market for Allen probably isn’t robust in the traditional sense, but there should be plenty of teams interested in adding a low-cost shooter of Allen’s caliber. The Bucks probably won’t get much for him, but maybe a late first-round pick or early second-round pick is on the table.

Every expensive contender will be looking to make moves like this in the years to come. The new CBA makes it hard for high-spending teams to navigate free agency. The best avenue to fill out the roster around stars will be to draft and develop players who are under long-term team control.