Milwaukee Bucks: 3 players most likely to be traded before deadline
1. Thon Maker
An informal poll of Milwaukee Bucks fans will most likely conclude that Thon Maker is the most polarizing player on the entire roster. Everyone agrees that Giannis Antetokounmpo is incredible, Malcolm Brogdon is underrated and that John Henson played altogether too many minutes over the past couple of seasons.
The third-year center, however, has divided support. He has the outline of a modern center, with elite shot-blocking tools and a 3-point shot. He looks like he should be a poor man’s Kristaps Porzingis. Instead he has been like a con man’s Kristaps Porzingis, showing up one time loaded with money and buying everyone gifts, and the next asking for $20 to put gas in his car.
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The Bucks have a center they can trust in Brook Lopez, and in the postseason they will likely utilize more Antetokounmpo-at-center lineups. Ersan Ilyasova also played center for the Philadelphia 76ers in last year’s postseason to great success. With those options, the up-and-down Maker could find himself even more marginalized than he already is.
Looking to the future, the Bucks have to ask themselves if they want to pay Maker’s next contract. If Lopez does stick around this summer, they will only need a backup, and those can generally be found in free agency at value. Keeping Maker as insurance in case Lopez leaves sounds great on the surface, but if the Bucks don’t trust him as their starter they shouldn’t keep him for that purpose. Christian Wood might be a more reliable reserve than Maker.
Yet Maker’s upside, intangibles, athleticism and everything else that makes him such a tantalizing player will excite some teams out there that still believe in his upside. Maker certainly has positive value on his current rookie deal, and the team that trades for him will gain not only his Bird rights but the opportunity to negotiate an extension with him this fall.
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Could the Bucks swap him out for a draft asset to help rebuild the cupboard they have been emptying lately? Or perhaps they could get an offensively-minded guard to plug into the bench mix and provide something Tony Snell, George Hill and Sterling Brown do not? At the very least the Bucks should be listening, because trading Maker before it is too late could be a win-win for both sides.