New Trade Proposal Sees Bucks Move Champion Wing to Crumbling 76ers

Would Philadelphia bite to help Milwaukee?

Dec 1, 2021; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton (22) reacts with guard Pat Connaughton (24) after hitting a three-point basket late in the fourth quarter during the game against the Charlotte Hornets at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Bucks spent much of the last month looking like a team on the rise. After starting off with a 2-8 record, the Bucks seemed to right the ship. Milwaukee has gone 12-4 across its intervening 16 games.

But that most recent defeat, a lopsided 124-101 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, exposed some fissures in Milwaukee's makeup that may bubble when the games start to really matter: the postseason.

Milwaukee may have cleaned the collective clocks of the now-22-5 Oklahoma City Thunder in winning their first-ever Emirates NBA Cup on Tuesday (during a game that doesn't count towards the regular season or postseason), but the club found itself thoroughly shellacked against Cleveland.

The Bucks were missing their second-best player, All-Star starting point guard Damian Lillard, and desperately lacked that supplemental scorer against the Cavaliers' measured, thorough attack. Eight-time All-NBA Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo powered Milwaukee with a 33-point, 14-rebound double-double.

But no one else came on the Bucks particularly close to his scoring output.

Former three-time All-Star small forward Khris Middleton still doesn't seem like his usual self. Doc Rivers continues to play the 6-foot-7 Texas A&M product off the bench. He finally submitted at least an efficient offensive game, though he didn't contribute enough firepower in Lillard's absence. Middleton scored 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor (1-of-2 from deep) and 3-of-5 from the foul line, plus three rebounds, and three assists. Only one other player, center Brook Lopez, scored in double digits (10 points).

The other issue the defeat exposed, of course, was the limits of Milwaukee's improved defense.

Beyond All-Star Cleveland guards Donovan Mitchell (who chipped in 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor and 6-of-8 shooting from the foul line) and Darius Garland (16) , the Cavaliers leaned on a balanced scoring attack behind forwards Dean Wade (15 points on 5-of-5 field goal shooting and 1-of-1 free throw shooting) and Evan Mobley (15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 shooting from the charity stripe), plus center Jarrett Allen (10 points on 5-of-6 shooting). Reserve Ty Jerome chipped in 13 points, too, though much of that came through garbage time.

So how could Milwaukee address its scoring issues a bit and its defense?

By poaching Caleb Martin from the Philadelphia 76ers, of course.

After a much-ballyhooed summer full of bold free agent moves, Philadelphia has plunged to a 9-16 record on the year. That said, in the middling Eastern Conference, that only puts the 76ers a game behind the 11-16 Brooklyn Nets for the East's No. 10 seed and a play-in berth. Given the reticence of the Nets to actually compete for anything this year (as evinced by the team already offloading one of its big win-now players, starting point guard Dennis Schroder, and reportedly making most of the rest of them available via trade), one wonders if they'll stay in the thick of that hunt. The Detroit Pistons, at 11-17, are also a spot ahead of Philadelphia.

Regardless of whether or not they can squeak into the play-in tournament, Philadelphia's contending days with All-Star center Joel Embiid might be in the rearview.

If the team does decide to restructure its personnel and plan for the future this season, it could do worse than retrieving multiple second round draft picks and a movable contract such as that of backup swingman Pat Connaughton in exchange for Martin and the second round rookie-scale contract of first-year big man Adem Bona.

Martin is a versatile two-way wing who can credibly defend shooting guards, small forwards and power forwards. This season, Martin is averaging 8.7 points on .405/.294/.672 shooting splits, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists a game. Those shooting splits, however, represent massive declines from Martin's career rates of .447/.353/.750.

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