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Milwaukee Bucks: Did They Make A Mistake Trading Brandon Knight?

By Gerald Bourguet

Jan 7, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Knight (11) drives past Philadelphia 76ers guard Michael Carter-Williams (1) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Bucks defeated the 76ers 97-87. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 7, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Knight (11) drives past Philadelphia 76ers guard Michael Carter-Williams (1) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Bucks defeated the 76ers 97-87. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Milwaukee Bucks
Jan 2, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Knight (11) during the game against the Indiana Pacers at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Indiana won 94-91. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /

Before And After:

The in-season stats haven’t been kind to the Bucks as far as justifying the Brandon Knight trade. In a three-team deal that netted them Michael Carter-Williams, Milwaukee sent away a player who was playing at an All-Star level (for the East) and had led this surprising team to the sixth spot in the conference.

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The Bucks still wound up with the sixth best record in the East, but that’s due to the incompetence of the bottom two seeds in the conference more so than Milwaukee finishing the season on a strong note.

Before trading Knight, the Bucks had amassed a 30-23 record; not great, but it was superior to all but five teams in the East and it was definitely better than last season. Since the Knight trade, including these playoffs, the Bucks have gone 11-21. For all his individual improvement (more on this in a bit), MCW hasn’t helped the Bucks win.

Milwaukee had a plus/minus of +2.0 with Knight; since swapping him for Carter-Williams, the Bucks are being outscored by 2.5 points on a nightly basis. Without Knight’s three-point threat to spread the floor, Milwaukee’s shooting percentages have plummeted (with league ranks in parentheses):

  • Field goal percentage:  46.6% (5th) —> 44.5% (19th)
  • Three-point percentage:  37.8% (3rd) —> 33.3% (24th)
  • Free throw percentage:  77.3% (8th) —> 72.8% (22nd)

Milwaukee’s offense was never elite with Knight, but even with Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo stepping up on that end of the floor, the Bucks’ offensive rating dropped from an already pedestrian 102.1 (17th) to an atrocious 97.5 (27th).

The team is scoring fewer points in transition and in the playoffs, those numbers have been even worse. The Bucks are shooting 39.1 percent from the floor, ranked 15th among the 16 playoff teams. Their three-point shooting (26.9 percent) is also ranked 15th, their free throw shooting has dropped to 66.2 percent and their offensive rating is a miserable 92.7 — ranked 15th, once again.

Couple those offensive struggles with Chicago’s defense regaining its footing and forcing the Bucks into a high number of midrange shots, it’s no wonder Milwaukee didn’t crack triple digits until Game 3 at home.

However, the defensive end is where the Bucks have made their money all season long, with a top five defense built on lengthy wing defenders and solid rotations to make up for their lack of a real rim protector.

Since the trade, the Bucks have remained relatively level in steals (9.6 to 9.7), assists (23.7 to 23.3), defensive rating (99.3 to 99.4) and opponent field goal percentage (43.5 percent to 44.0 percent). But in the playoffs so far, Michael Carter-Williams and the Bucks’ have been mostly exploited on both ends.

Next: Work-In-Progress MCW

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