The Milwaukee Bucks have won six consecutive games as they await three-time All-Star Khris Middleton’s season debut.
Coach Doc Rivers has filled the shooting and defensive void with Andre Jackson and AJ Green. Because of the team’s success with Jackson and Green, Middleton has become slightly more expendable.
Recently, FanSided’s Michael Saenz constructed a list of the ten stars who are most likely to be on the move by this season’s trade deadline. Middleton was named as the ninth-most likely star to be traded. A potential move of the Bucks’ longtime elite 3-and-D wing could look similar to the following:
Bucks receive: Herb Jones, CJ McCollum
Pelicans receive: Khris Middleton, Pat Connaughton, MarJon Beauchamp, AJ Johnson, 2031 first-round pick, 2031 second-round pick
The injury-riddled Pelicans currently sit in last place in the Western Conference as this appears to be another throw-away season with superstar Zion Williamson. Trading away Jones and McCollum would give more opportunity and responsibility to rising star Jordan Hawkins along with Dejounte Murray.
Additionally, this move would give the Pelicans’ front office a chance to evaluate the talent of 2024 second-round pick Antonio Reeves, who has flashed in a limited sample.
Williamson offers a similar skillset to Giannis Antetokounmpo, who Middleton complements effectively. Beauchamp and Johnson give the Pelicans reasonable swings at first-round talent while Connaughton is primarily included for salary-matching purposes. The Pelicans could use the 2031 draft capital to further build for the future.
This deal would give the Bucks a lockdown perimeter defender who could slot directly into Middleton’s role. However, Jones, similar to Middleton, has only appeared in four games this season as he battles a shoulder injury. The young 3-and-D wing finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting last season while shooting 41.8 percent from three.
McCollum would be brought in to reunite Lillard with his former longtime backcourt mate. McCollum would provide the Bucks with much-needed depth as a reliable ball-handler outside of Antetokounmpo and Lillard.
MORE BUCKS NEWS: Bucks’ identity without Khris Middleton questioned by three-time NBA champion