The Milwaukee Bucks have Giannis Antetokounmpo under contract for one more season, and a Chris Paul trade could do wonders for them.
With Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined due to an ankle injury, the Miami Heat closed out the Milwaukee Bucks in five games to end their historic 2019-20 campaign. With their season now over, trade speculation surrounding Antetokounmpo is going to flood the media mainstream more than it ever has before, even though he still has one year left under contract. Rather than trading their MVP, the Bucks should look to bring another All-Star aboard, that being Chris Paul, to give the team its best shot at convincing the Greek Freak to stay long-term.
With 10 All-Star appearances, eight All-NBA honors, and nine All-Defensive awards just scratching the surface of his highly decorated resume, bringing Chris Paul aboard based off that would be a no-brainer. However, what has scared many away is his monstrous contract, which currently has two years, $85,569,960 left on it.
Before the 2019-20 season, it seemed that Paul’s growing age and substantial contract were too much of a gamble to pursue for anyone. When the OKC Thunder traded for him, a rebuild seemed to be the route they were heading towards, receiving just a 0.2 percent chance to make it into the postseason. However, the guard flipped the script, averaging 17.6 points, 6.7 assists, and 5.0 rebounds per game this season as he guided this team into the postseason and proved that he could still be a top point guard in this league.
Coincidently, that is precisely what Milwaukee needs. For a 35-year-old point guard, $85 million is certainly not a welcoming deal to take on, but for a team that could be on their last leg with their superstar, it just might be worth the price tag.
For three years now, the most significant question mark synonymous with the Milwaukee Bucks has been if the team has surrounded the MVP with the proper pieces to win a title. For three years in a row, the answer has been no. The most prominent example of this has been their starting point guard, Eric Bledsoe.
In three straight seasons with the Bucks, Bledsoe has regressed in the postseason and has undoubtedly been the team’s weakest link. In Milwaukee’s nine playoff games this season, the guard recorded his worst showing with the team, averaging just 11.6 points, 5.9 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game, which should be the final straw. The 30-year-old has been a liability in the postseason, and an upgrade is long overdue. That upgrade needs to come in the form of Chris Paul, who will become a trade target for several teams this offseason.
For Milwaukee, pursuing a trade for Paul is a championship-caliber move and one that they must attempt. Bringing in CP3 would unquestionably give Giannis Antetokounmpo his best teammate ever, and potentially the one that can finally help get the team over their postseason woes.
Adding fuel to the fire, it is a well-known fact that before he got traded to Oklahoma City in the last offseason, Paul had Giannis and Milwaukee on his mind. The Ringer’s Ryen Russillo spoke on Adrian Wojnarowski’s The Woj Pod last October, stating that he heard rumblings of Paul’s desire to play with the MVP. “I had heard he wanted to go to Milwaukee. Of course, you’d want to go play with Giannis.”
The OKC Thunder announced Tuesday night that they and head coach Billy Donovan have both “mutually agreed to part ways,” citing that the team’s future direction was unclear. Cryptic as that might sound, it seems that a rebuild is coming for the Thunder once the season officially concludes. This means they will likely make their most valuable asset, Chris Paul, available for trade, searching for a collection of players and draft picks in return.
If that interest is still there between Paul and the Bucks, Milwaukee needs to give Oklahoma City a call immediately. For the Bucks, the most difficult about this trade could be matching Paul’s hefty salary, but the team could undoubtedly pull it off if they are willing to go all-in to bring in such a talented piece.
With Giannis Antetokounmpo under contract for one more season, the Milwaukee Bucks need to make a seismic change with their roster if they want to turn things around next season. If they plan on running it back with this same team, Antetokounmpo could already have one foot out the door when the 2020-21 season eventually rolls around.
Chris Paul to the Bucks makes all the sense in the world and could be Milwaukee’s last hoorah to prove to Giannis that they can win before he hits the free-agent market. A trade of this magnitude could have players discussing wanting to come to Milwaukee, rather than leaving it.
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