Multiple Bucks Listed as Trade Options For Suns Ahead of Deadline

Would offloading these vets make sense for Milwaukee?

Nov 12, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Taurean Prince (12), Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl (19) and center Brook Lopez (11) reach for a rebound during the first quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

At 10-9, the Milwaukee Bucks are finally over a .500 record for just the second time this season — the first being their 1-0 start to the year, thanks to a season-opening victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. But the franchise doesn't quite appear to be in the Eastern Conference's upper echelon, following an unsteady 2-8 season start.

Eight-time All-NBA superstar power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is looking like his MVP self, at least, averaging a league-leading 32.9 points on 60.9 percent shooting from the floor and 61.2 percent shooting from the charity stripe, 11.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.4 blocks, 0.5 steals and 3.1 win shares a night, across 17 healthy bouts.

Eight-time All-Star Bucks point guard Damian Lillard has at least not fallen off from his inaugural Milwaukee season last year, though his defensive issues remain and he's not quite the mega-clutch late-game bucket-getter he had been during his Portland Trail Blazers prime.

Will the Bucks be buyers or sellers at this year's trade deadline? On the surface, the club is expected to win now, fielding a veteran-laden roster wherein seven of their anticipated top 11 players will be on the wrong side of 30 (33-year-old Khris Middleton has missed the entire season while recuperating from dual ankle surgeries) by year's end. But it's also just a game over .500, capped out, and merely the East's No. 5 seed. There's a big difference between a club that hinges on Antetokounmpo to bail it out at all times and the balanced excellence of the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic.

Per Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report, the Phoenix Suns could be the perfect trade partner for the Bucks — should Milwaukee definitively slip out of the playoff picture. Backup Bucks shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. and reserve 3-and-D small forward Taurean Prince could abet the Kevin Durant-led squad as it looks to make its own postseason push.

"Both Trent and Prince signed minimum deals this offseason yet are playoff rotation-caliber players. If the Bucks fall out of postseason contention, the Suns should make a call," Swartz writes.

"Don't expect the most expensive roster in the NBA ($419.3 million in salary and luxury tax penalties) to pull off any exciting trades at the deadline," Swartz cautions. "The Phoenix Suns could flip [starting center] Jusuf Nurkić in a trade to try and upgrade the center position or just explore deals for cheap veterans."

It seems unlikely Trent or Prince could net major draft equity, but they could fetch some second round draft picks.

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