Did the Milwaukee Bucks squander the trade deadline?

This week, the Milwaukee Bucks cost themselves another season of Giannis Antetokoumpo playing MVP ball and Damian Lillard’s prime.

Given the opportunity at the deadline to make bold choices, they opted to dump Khris Middleton for a one-dimensional forward in Kyle Kuzma. In a perimeter-oriented league ruled by 3 (and) D wings, Kuzma is struggling through his career-worst shooting slump and doesn't have the juice to contribute as a secondary playmaker when his shot is falling. In addition, the Bucks also surrendered their 2024 first-round pick A.J. Johnson. Given the reliability of Middleton over the course of his career, before knee and ankle injuries sapped him of his verve, it was a punch in the gut. 

Bucks' trade deadline left a lot to be desired

The Bucks could have gone all-in on Jimmy Butler. Butler reportedly had no interest in a trade to Milwaukee. But, he also told Golden State the same thing. The Warriors kept working the phones though. The other gave up a pick swap and one of their best players in franchise history for a streaky wing. At one time, Donovan Mitchell was thought to be a rental for Cleveland. Jon Horst was reigned in. 

Spending their penultimate day before the trade deadline on a splashy trade for Kuzma wasn’t the worst of it. The indirect benefit of the Kuzma-Middleton swap is that it pushed the Bucks beneath the second apron, allowing them to remove handicaps on trades. Once under the second apron, they were no longer prohibited from combining multiple players’ salaries into trades for players on costly contracts. Being $9 million over the first apron required them to match 100 percent of the salaries they obtained, but Pat Connaughton and Bobby Portis' remaining salaries on respective two-year deals were obvious assets.

Swapping Middleton’s $33 million salary for Kuzma on a $20 million annual salary a day before the trade deadline felt like the preamble for a trade involving Portis and/or Connaughton that would vault them closer to the Eastern Conference’s hierarchy’s VIP section. Not gambling on Butler is understandable, but refusing to address Brook Lopez’s senescence or converting Connaughton and Portis into pieces is unforgivable.

The availability of Hornets center Mark Williams wasn’t common knowledge. Yet, Los Angeles Lakers generala manager Rob Pelinka was able to extract a 7-footer out of Charlotte, who averages near 16 points and 10 rebounds, while shooting 78 percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, the Bucks settled for looping reserve Jericho Sims into the Middleton trade. Say what you will about Pelinka falling into the Doncic trade, but he put in the leg work to take advantage of LeBron James' twilight years.

Since trading for Lillard, the urgency has not been there for Horst to capitalize off their aging duo.  Milwaukee’s roster architect should have been on the horn all day converting Portis and Connaughton into a younger, more agile bag who can’t be blown as easily by on switches. 

The Bucks squandered an opportunity to bolster their lineup. Inertia and the status quo only produce prosperity if you’re already a legit contender. The Bucks are winless against the league’s best. Their current win-loss record is worse now than it was a year ago after Adrian Griffin was canned. 

This is a Bucks team that needed to swing for the fences, not bunt during the most important week of the regular season. A year ago, Dallas acquired P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford in exchange for roster flotsam and a protected 2027 first-round pick. They also held onto rookie Dereck Lively. Meanwhile, Milwaukee spent their pick on a developmental player, then shipped him. 

Four years ago, the Nuggets acquired Aaron Gordon at the trade deadline in exchange for Gary Harris, R.J. Hampton, and a 2025 first. It took two years for that deal to yield fruit once Jamal Murray was healthy for a postseason run. 

This is a team stuck in quicksand. Every small movement sinks them deeper. Instead of reaching for a big who could help pull them back to solid land, they settled for barely keeping their heads above water. Their upside at the beginning of the week was a second-round exit. After the trade deadline, it’s a slightly more competitive second-round exit.