The Milwaukee Bucks are at a crossroads: They’re 15-20 and 11th in the Eastern Conference, and being out of contention may be the last straw for superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
However, if they want to keep Antetokounmpo, they could make a move that would fill the void left by his former superstar teammate, Damian Lillard. Fansided’s Christopher Kline proposes that the Bucks trade with the Atlanta Hawks for four-time All-Star Trae Young.
“The Milwaukee Bucks are loudly forecasting their desire to find Giannis Antetokounmpo a new co-star, rather than trading him and starting over. That’s fair enough — you don’t trade a Giannis-level superstar unless you have to. Names like Michael Porter Jr. and Zach LaVine continue to float around, but there’s a case to be made that Young is the ideal target…The failed Damian Lillard experiment probably soured Bucks fans (and possibly even the Bucks) on small, 3-point sniping point guards, but Young does have a certain appeal compared to Lillard. For one, he’s much younger, and thus a bit more spry. We’ve seen Young at least put in the effort to improve defensively. Last season was a step in the right direction before he took two steps back this season, for reasons not entirely related to effort or ability,” Cassels wrote.
This season, Young is averaging 19.3 points, 8.9 assists, 1.5 assists, and one steal in 28 minutes per game. He has been riddled with injury, limiting him to only 10 games this season.
Though, when Young is at full strength, he has career averages of 25.2 points, 9.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and one steal per game. This year can also be considered as a one-off, as he’s never played less than 54 games in his entire career.
Young was proposed previously as a way to trade Antetokounmpo, but keeping Antetokounmpo and getting Young would be preferable.
Young would be the perfect replacement for Lillard. He would give them the inside-outside game they had with Lillard and Antetokounmpo, and he would be even more of a floor general, getting everyone involved with his playmaking. If the Bucks want to keep Antetokounmpo, they’ll need to start talks with Atlanta ASAP.
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