NBA Trade Grades: Bucks Send Michael Carter-Williams To Bulls

Milwaukee Bucks

For the Milwaukee Bucks, the thinking behind this deal is fairly obvious. With Khris Middleton out for around six months and the Bucks wanting to return to the postseason, they needed some semblance of shooting on the wing.

It also should be no surprise after ESPN reported Milwaukee unsuccessfully tried to trade him to the Sacramento Kings for Ben McLemore.

Trading for Michael Beasley a few weeks ago added some scoring, but Milwaukee still needed someone who could spread the floor. By trading for Tony Snell, the Bucks are hoping the fourth-year forward out of New Mexico can develop into the 3-and-D wing Chicago envisioned when they took him with the 20th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

Carter-Williams, the 11th overall pick and Rookie of the Year in that same draft class, had become an unnecessary part of Milwaukee’s rotation. He was demoted to bench duty for a 17-game stretch last season, averaging 11.5 points, 5.2 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game on the year.

With Giannis Antetokounmpo taking over point forward duties and Matthew Dellavedova joining in free agency, having a backup point guard who couldn’t shoot prompted this somewhat desperate trade for a perimeter threat. This also avoids the issue of overpaying to keep Carter-Williams when he hits restricted free agency in 2017.

A career 35.1 percent three-point shooter, Snell shot 36.1 percent from long range last season while fading from head coach Fred Hoiberg‘s rotation. The season before under Tom Thibodeau, Snell averaged 6.0 points per game on 42.9 percent shooting from the floor and 37.1 percent shooting from downtown — all career highs.

Unfortunately, the Bucks may rely on Snell to spread the floor more than he’s currently capable of doing. They also didn’t get great value for MCW,  a costly acquisition from 2015 when they shipped out Brandon Knight. This leaves Milwaukee with only two point guards, and the third one they just shipped out was the best player in the deal.

Though MCW clearly has his flaws and was slightly superfluous on this team, he might have been a useful bench piece alongside Delly, who could’ve spread the floor in a shooting guard role like the one he played alongside LeBron James in Cleveland.

Snell won’t move the needle much in terms of Khris Middleton replacements, but even if a change of scenery unearths a breakout season, Milwaukee traded away the best player in this deal.

Grade: C