A few dominos would have to fall for the Milwaukee Bucks to have any shot at Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler.
Milwaukee would have to trade Pat Connaughton to get him off their payroll, and Khris Middleton would be the most likely trade candidate for matching salary purposes.
Such a trade can happen but involves many moving parts, making it challenging. However, it’s not impossible. Butler will make $48.8 million this season, so the Bucks would have to aggregate a lot of salary to make it work.
ClutchPoints proposed a three-team trade between the Bucks, Heat, and Detroit Pistons that would bring Butler to Milwaukee. It would require more than Middleton and Connaughton for completion. The proposed trade is as follows:
Bucks receive: Butler, Alec Burks
Heat receive: Middleton, Bobby Portis, Bucks 2031 first-round pick (Top-5 protected)
Pistons receive: Pat Connaughton, MarJon Beauchamp, Bucks 2031 second-round pick
This would be the Bucks’ hail-mary attempt to strengthen their playoff chances. Butler has his problems, but his resume speaks for itself.
He was the best player on two teams that made surprise runs to the NBA Finals. In Milwaukee, the Bucks wouldn’t count on him to score as much as Miami once did, but they would count on him to raise their ceiling on the defensive end. On paper, it would be worth the risk, but with Butler, other factors are at play.
Yahoo Sports! Kevin O’Connor reported that the Golden State Warriors’ core, like Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr, fear how Butler would fit in the locker room, which makes him risky to acquire. The Bucks have to consider the same thing.
The Bucks haven’t been bad this year, but a few other Eastern Conference contenders have fared better than them. Butler could vault them back to the top of the top, but Milwaukee would have to ask themselves, “At what cost?”
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