The Milwaukee Bucks won the NBA Cup championship on Tuesday night in Las Vegas, proving they belong amongst the league’s elite tier of contenders.
Their front office has the opportunity to further solidify the team’s standing before the February 6th trade deadline, despite obstacles of various second apron restrictions.
Recent reports have revealed that the Bucks are targeting a lob threat to complement Brook Lopez. Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors have already been active on the trade market by acquiring Dennis Schroder from the Brooklyn Nets. The Bucks and Warriors early-season activity on the trade market could lead to a deal between the two playoff-hopeful organizations.
A trade could look similar to the following proposal:
Bucks receive: Brandin Podziemski, Kevon Looney
Warriors receive: Pat Connaughton, Delon Wright, 2031 first-round pick, 2031 second-round pick swap
Connaughton and Wright are primarily included to help match salaries. Additionally, the draft capital involved could be consolidated to entice an opposing front office into parting with win-now talent. Because the Warriors are in playoff contention, a deal of this magnitude is unlikely as Podziemski and Looney are key rotations pieces.
The 28-year old Looney would act as the lob threat the Bucks’ front office is currently seeking. Not to mention, Looney is a Milwaukee-native. The 6-foot-9 big man would provide the Doc Rivers-led Bucks with a cromulent backup to Lopez. Currently, they are relying on Bobby Portis to play out-of-position. This season, Looney has taken 85 shots within five feet of the basket while only attempting 22 shots from farther. However, he is not the lob threat who the Bucks desire with zero alley-oops at this point in the season.
Podziemski, who also hails from Wisconsin, would provide the Bucks with another reliable ball-handler. The second-year guard finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting a season ago. The 21-year old is shooting just 27.1 percent from three on 3.7 attempts per game this season after shooting 38.5 percent on 3.2 attempts per game as a rookie. Regression may be approaching as the sample size grows. Podziemski would fortify the depth in Doc Rivers’ rotation and would be extremely beneficial financially as he is on an affordable contract and clearly belongs in an NBA rotation.
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