NBA Trade Grades: Milwaukee Bucks Deal For Michael Beasley
Milwaukee Bucks
With Middleton sidelined, Milwaukee was going to sorely miss his contributions on both ends of the floor. After averaging 18.2 points, 4.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game last season, the 25-year-old shooting guard was intrinsic to the Bucks’ success, limited though it may have been.
Now that he’s out for around six months, the Bucks needed a temporary replacement for the majority of the 2016-17 season. They were severely lacking scoring from the wing, three-point shooting (Middleton shot 39.6 percent last year), and perimeter defense.
Enter Beasley, who doesn’t really address any of those needs with the exception of putting up plenty of shots in a hurry.
After spending time in China putting up gaudy numbers, Beasley came on strong for the Houston Rockets near the end of the 2015-16 season. In his 20 games there, he averaged 12.8 points and 4.9 rebounds in just 18.2 minutes per game, shooting 52.2 percent from the floor.
The former No. 2 overall pick has been unable to find a lasting home in the NBA, but there’s no denying that he can get buckets when he gets in a rhythm. However, what the Bucks really needed from their potential Middleton understudy was three-point shooting and defense.
Unfortunately for the Bucks, Beasley’s lack of discipline and effort on the defensive end have long been among the greater flaws in his game. With Milwaukee trying to get back to its roots as the NBA’s second ranked defense from 2014-15, Beasley will hardly be able to help there.
Beasley can be a black hole on offense, but he was efficient enough in that limited 20-game sample size in Houston. He can’t be expected to spread the floor, however, as he shot just 33.3 percent from deep last year and is a 34.3 percent shooter from long range for his career.
Let’s just say that keeping him and his jump shot away from impressionable youngsters like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker might be a good idea.
The Bucks were never going to find a quality replacement for Middleton this late in the summer, especially without being willing to trade something of value. Getting healthy is still the focus for Middleton and Milwaukee, since Beasley is a major downgrade in pretty much every category.
However, all Milwaukee had to give up was Ennis, a seldom-used third string point guard who averaged 4.5 points and 2.1 assists in 14.2 minutes per game last season. He only appeared in 46 games for the Bucks and with Dellavedova coming on, the 22-year-old Ennis became deadweight.
Beasley has one year remaining on his contract and he’ll only be paid $1.4 million this season. As laughable as it is that the Bucks might be replacing Khris Middleton with Michael Beasley, Matthew Dellavedova or Malcom Brogdon on opening night, this trade really doesn’t hurt the Bucks either.
Grade: C+