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Awful Trade News:2024 February 17 Unexpected Miami Buck Trade M…………..

February 19, 2024 Soccerforall24

The Bucks neglected to take care of their most pressing issue by remaining silent during the trade deadline.

Damian Lillard was rumored to be on his way to join the Miami Heat this past offseason, but the Milwaukee Bucks pounced and signed the great guard to partner with Giannis Antetokounmpo. More than halfway through the season, the Bucks have shown to be everything but the clear favorite to win the 2024 NBA Finals, despite what NBA analysts had previously stated.

Milwaukee had previously made a head coaching change, firing Adrian Griffin after just 43 games and replacing him with Doc Rivers. The Bucks have not improved since hiring Rivers; in the Eastern Conference rankings, they are now 2.5 games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are in second place.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) on the floor in the second half during game one of the second round of the 2022 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. The Bucks made a trade deadline error by failing to acquire a top-tier wing defender.
Essential Credit: USA TODAY Sports/David Butler II

Last season, Milwaukee was eliminated from the playoffs in the first round by the Miami Heat, and a major contributing factor to that defeat was the heavy burden Mike Budenholzer placed on Jrue Holiday during the series, especially with regard to protecting Jimmy Butler. For the most part of this series, Butler cooked Holiday, but Budenholzer made almost no changes to slow him down.

Ever since Holiday was dealt by the Bucks in exchange for Lillard, there has been much discussion about the team’s new best perimeter defender. It’s still unclear what the answer is after 56 games. The Bucks’ defensive rating of 17th in the NBA isn’t exactly a prescription for success when it comes to winning the Larry O’Brien trophy. Even if Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez are still excellent inside defenders, their teammates’ inability to defend the perimeter will be a liability.

Former standout on-ball defenders Khris Middleton and Jae Crowder have seen their defensive prowess wane with time. In a seven-game series, you can’t expect either player to restrict superstars like Jayson Tatum or Butler, but they can both still make clutch stops sometimes. The issue is that the Bucks don’t really have any options on the perimeter, save for Beverley, who they acquired at the trade deadline, because both Lillard and Malik Beasley are poor defenders.

Before the trade deadline, the front office had enough opportunity to assess the team’s performance, and it was expected that they would want a lockdown perimeter defender capable of competing with the best players they would face in the postseason. You might argue that Beverley is that player, but his size prevents him from regularly slowing down Butler or Tatum; instead, he is better suited to shut up the star player on the other side.

Milwaukee still has a chance to add a buyer, but their options are quite constrained. Beverley is already past his peak, but he will still have an impact for one or two games in the postseason. The Bucks could look back and regret sitting on their hands at the trade deadline in favor of someone like Atlanta Hawks center De’Andre Hunter or Chicago Bulls center Alex Caruso.