Paul Pierce Wants to See 6-Time NBA All-Star Traded to East Contender

Matt Levine | Nov 11, 2024

Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

One of the best ways for retired NBA players to stay involved with the current league is podcasting. We have seen an uptick in recent years of players getting involved to let their opinions be heard or to tell stories.

One of the more interesting podcasts that have come about has been "The Ticket and The Truth". It has former NBA stars Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett discussing a wide range of basketball topics.

In a recent episode, they discussed the poor start to the season of the Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee is now 2-8 on the year after another tough loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday afternoon.

Pierce provided a blueprint for what he believes could help take the Bucks over the top and get them back on track. It involves Milwaukee trading for a six-time All-Star.

"I like Jimmy Butler on a team that can get you over the top," Pierce said on the Ticket & The Truth podcast. "Like Jimmy Butler to Milwaukee makes more sense to me. He could be that missing piece at the age of 35 that you need to take the pressure off of Giannis and Dame Lillard."

"If I'm 35, I want to go somewhere to where I got a chance to for a [championship] at this point," Pierce shared. "That I can help a team get over the top."

In order for Jimmy Butler to land with the Bucks, Milwaukee would likely need to send forward Khris Middleton to Miami. Butler has seemed happy with the Heat but with his contract expiring soon, he could take his talents elsewhere or Miami could choose to move him.

Pairing him with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard could be interesting but the Bucks have other issues to address. They don't have great depth behind their star players and their defense has been one of the worst in the NBA.

Butler could help and his mentality is something that Milwaukee could use. However, the likelihood of Miami trading Butler to the Bucks is low.

The two sides are direct rivals so the Heat would be hesitant to send their star to Milwaukee. Unless Butler directly asked to go to the Bucks, it's likely a pipedream.

It remains to be seen where the Bucks will go from here but unless a change occurs, big changes could be coming to Milwaukee sooner rather than later.

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