Bucks Move Damian Lillard, Land $120M Star in New Blockbuster Trade Proposal

Matt Levine | 3 Hours Ago

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Bucks have been one of the biggest dissapointments around the NBA to open the new year. They currently hold a record of 4-9 and are fading quickly in the Eastern Conference.

Despite having star guard Damian Lillard and star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee has struggled to find any form of consistency. It has led to all sorts of trade speculation about both star players but Milwaukee seems content to allow their players to work things out.

However, that hasn't stopped rumors from circling and trades being proposed. In fact, Milwaukee remains one of the teams expected to be active at the trade deadline no matter which direction they will take.

Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report put together a few trade ideas that could work if teams around the league wanted to get a little wild. They aren't out of the realm of possibility and the Bucks were included in them.

In the proposed deal, Milwaukee would send Lillard and guard Delon Wright to the Miami Heat. Miami would send back guard Tyler Herro, guard Duncan Robinson, forward Nikola Jović, and a 2031 top-three protected first-round pick.

"This deal would make the Bucks deeper, younger (Tyler Herro is only 24) and more versatile. Nikola Jović is exactly the kind of stretch 4 who makes sense next to point Giannis. And if the two-time MVP is attacking a floor spaced out by Herro, Jović and Duncan Robinson, it'd be harder for opposing defenses to collapse on his drives."

Milwaukee would only trade Lillard if the team continued to struggle but this return wouldn't be too bad. They would get multiple shooters to surround Antetokounmpo with.

Alongside Antetokounmpo and star forward Khris Middleton, the Bucks could make some noise with a deeper team. Losing Lillard would hurt but the fit between him and Antetokounmpo hasn't fully materialized the way that anyone would have liked to see.

It could be time for Milwaukee to cut ties before it's too late. Lillard was heavily rumored to prefer Miami over any other team before he was traded to the Bucks.

This could be a way for all sides to get what they want and help get the Bucks back on track. It remains to be seen what the Bucks will do with their roster but it seems that a deal will be coming down the pipeline sooner rather than later.

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