Did Milwaukee Bucks Make The Right Trade Deadline Move?

Having an opportunity to make a move at the trade deadline is a tricky situation in the NBA. Usually, the logic would be if a player or asset is available that you’ve had your eye on for a while, you go out and make the move.

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However, then the issue of messing with team chemistry has to be examined, especially when you’re dealing with a team fighting for a playoff spot.

That was the case with the Milwaukee Bucks, as the team decided to bring in point guard Michael Carter-Williams, and in turn shipped Brandon Knight to the Phoenix Suns in a three-team deal.

Knight was having a spectacular year for the Bucks, averaging career highs across the board and emerging as a leader both on and off the floor for a young team looking to find their spot in the league, let alone the Eastern Conference.

Many analysts weren’t expecting the Bucks to make a playoff push this season, but like the Suns last season, they came out of the gate and really clicked with one another, especially on defense.

The Bucks have played like a top-10 defensive team this year, a testament to their length and culture put into place by new head coach Jason Kidd.

There were some struggles on offense, especially since rookie forward Jabari Parker went down due to injury, but Knight was stepping in and hitting shots when the Bucks needed him to the most.

The fact that he was hitting on 40.9 percent of his three-point attempts with Milwaukee shows that he was providing the Bucks with what they needed in an area that the team has struggled in all season.

Not only was Knight connecting on shots from deep, but he was really starting to develop as a playmaker under Kidd.

Now that’s little to no surprise for anyone who has more knowledge about basketball than the casual fan because Kidd was one of the best NBA point guards himself, so him being able to improve a lead guard’s game is most likely one reason he’s been able to have success as a head coach.

Knight wasn’t really a distributor during his time with the Detroit Pistons, but that team never really moved the ball well as a whole to begin with. Kidd calls for the Bucks to constantly set screens, cut and move the ball at all times. Kidd doesn’t want a lot of isolation ball being played, so he was always putting Knight in a position to make the right play as long as he could keep up with the speed of what was going on.

In turn, Knight was able to follow his teammates and learn where they liked the ball and how the defense would react to such moves. Even though he averaged 3.2 turnovers per game in Milwaukee, he was still dishing out 5.4 assists per game. Knight had to handle the ball a lot for the Bucks because of their lack of strong point guards, so defenses could easily key in on him and force him into trap situations.

Knight was becoming a real problem for other teams at the point guard position because of his combination of court vision and scoring prowess. Now that Knight is gone, the offense has become stagnant under Carter-Williams.

When looking at statistics, Carter-Williams has been a better passer in terms of total number of assists. But when factoring in turnovers and how he finishes plays, Knight has been much better of a point guard.

At times, Carter-Williams can be sloppy with the ball, and that affects the flow of the offense and brings the team down despite how ever many flashy plays he makes.

A larger problem is Carter-Williams’ shooting ability. He’s been a terrible shooter in the NBA, something that was looked at as a real problem coming out of college. Having a point guard that can’t shoot in today’s game is bad because of how much the lead guard has the ball in his hands.

Late in the shot clock, the ball generally finds its way back to the floor general, meaning that he has to be able to make shots in order to limit the team’s number of empty possessions. Not just that, but having another perimeter player who can reliably spread the floor is always a huge plus in today’s three-point happy league.

Recently Kidd spoke to the media regarding the deadline deal and the impact its had on the team. Kidd doesn’t see any kind of move as a negative, only a positive.

“It’s something much bigger than that that you guys are going to have to wait and write about,” said Kidd.

“You guys look at the moment. Sometimes you’ve got to look in front of you. I think the trade was a good thing, a positive thing no matter how our record shakes out. We’re here to build something, not to do something in six months. There’s a bigger picture. We feel we have a core here that will be around for a long time and have success.”

Kidd is positive that he’s essentially going to be able to rebuild Carter-Williams’ game in some areas, especially shooting, and really be able to take advantage of not only what he can do on offense, but on defense too.

Carter-Williams’ length has to be what enticed the Bucks into ultimately pulling the trigger on the deal. His ability to guard multiple positions and switch anywhere out on the perimeter is something that is being marked with value in today’s game.

Teams like the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks, the two teams with the best records in the league so far, have succeeded defensively because they have so many long athletes that can switch off of screens and not give up any kind of mismatch to the offense. This makes the opposing team’s job a lot harder because they can’t rely on any sort of advantage when setting a pick.

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It comes down to that player just making shots and when the ball doesn’t end up in the hands of a proven scorer, that leads to more empty possessions and transition opportunities for the Bucks, who like to use their athleticism to get out and run for easy buckets.

Did the Bucks make the right move? Right now, the team has been falling back a little bit in terms of their cohesiveness and efficiency. But looking at the bigger picture, Carter-Williams could be the better fit for this team because of his defensive versatility, as long as he can improve his shooting and control the ball better.

The team’s chemistry was definitely messed with because of this trade, something that front offices really need to consider more often when making a decision as opposed to just going out there and getting the “best players”.

But if it pays off? Then we’re having a whole different discussion down the road.

*Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.

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