Milwaukee Bucks: 5 Ways Trade Deadline Affected Their Playoff Run

The Milwaukee Bucks had a quiet trade deadline, but that didn’t mean they were numb to the activity. What moves made and unmade will affect this team’s playoff run?

The Milwaukee Bucks made their foray into the trade market a few weeks ahead of the deadline, trading center Miles Plumlee – and more specifically, his $50 million contract – to the Charlotte Hornets for Spencer Hawes and Roy Hibbert.

Neither Hawes nor Hibbert have played a minute for the Bucks, and Thursday the Bucks sent out Hibbert to the Denver Nuggets for a pick unlikely to convey. With the Bucks unlikely to play Hawes the rest of the year, their trades will likely not affect their team’s success this season.

That does not mean that the trade deadline had no impact on the Bucks, however. Other teams made trades – or didn’t – that affected Milwaukee’s chances at making the postseason. Not every trade did of course. While the New Orleans Pelicans adding DeMarcus Cousins had shockwaves throughout the league, it did not directly impact Milwaukee and their playoff hopes.

But many of the teams surrounding Milwaukee in the standings were involved in the trade deadline, making deals or deciding not to. Here are five trades that did or did not happen which had clear repercussions for the Bucks’ stretch run.