There’s two days until the trade deadline for the NBA and the Milwaukee Bucks are putting themselves right in the middle of the conversation. There’s been some linked rumors with the Bucks and the Boston Celtics.
Per Jared Weiss, The Athletic’s Celtics beat writer, the Celtics offered Dennis Schroder in exchange for Donte DiVincenzo; The Bucks countered and asked for Grant Williams.
Why Williams?
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The Bucks expressing interest in Williams over Schroder makes more sense. Williams is a third-year forward who’s been exploding on the court this season with Boston. Achieving career highs with 3.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 7.3 points, and 0.7 blocks on the season, the 23-year-old is also shooting 42.8 percent from the three on just 3.5 attempts.
The 6-foot-6 forward has a lot of versatility to bring to the Bucks’ roster. He’s been able to come off the bench, play where needed, and score points. Since Milwaukee no longer has PJ Tucker, and they’re still trying to find that Tucker replacement, bringing Williams would be the most viable option. If going that route of replacing Tucker, Williams is an amazing power forward and would provide a lot of positive production for the Bucks. He doesn’t bring the Tucker level, but he could be useful in certain situations. He’s a good defender when given defensive assignments and could really contribute both ways for Milwaukee.
From a money standpoint, Williams is still on a rookie contract with Boston. He’s only making $2.6MM this season, and if the Bucks wanted to pursue both Williams and Schroder ($5.9MM), I’m sure the Bucks would find a way to work out contracts. The Bucks could run into a roadblock however; Creating a trade package that would benefit Boston. There’s DiVincenzo, George Hill, Rodney Hood, Jordan Nwora, just to name a couple of players; But there’s a chance that Boston could want more or different from what the Bucks initially offer.
What About Dennis Schroder?
Schroder has been in lots of trade talk across teams in the Eastern conference. Chicago has also expressed offers for the veteran guard, and per Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, the trade would send Troy Brown Jr and a second-round pick to Boston for Schroder.
For Boston, Schroder has been a valuable asset. On the season, he’s averaging 14.4 points and 4.3 APG. Trading him might hurt the Celtics’ shooting short-term, but he’s such a valuable trade to Boston that would clear up cap space.
DiVincenzo, A Good Option?
Swapping DiVincenzo for Schroder makes sense. However, swapping just DiVincenzo for Schroder and Williams isn’t logical for both Milwaukee and Boston. DiVincenzo has missed most of the season due to injury, but he could be reliable off the bench for the Celtics. While he’s only averaging around 20 minutes per game, he’s shooting 28.6 percent from the three, averaging 7.1 points, 1.6 assists, 3.6 rebounds per game. Granted, DiVincenzo has only played in 16 games, so he hasn’t really been given optimal opportunity to achieve more.
Not only would DiVincenzo might do better in a new environment, but he would save the team about $1.2MM in cap space. He currently is on a one-year, $4.68MM deal with Milwaukee.
Other Options?
As mentioned before, another viable option would be George Hill and Jordan Nwora for Schroder. Semi Ojeleye is also an option available on the table should the Celtics look to bring others. There’s definitely a lack of movable assets that the Bucks could provide, but if they’re offered along with potentially a draft pick, there might be a deal.
Not to be cliche, but only time will tell what’ll happen with the Bucks and who they decide to pursue. Things might get a little tricky before Thursday, but the Bucks have to do something.
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