This Milwaukee Bucks shocked the NBA world during the 2024 NBA draft. NO participating in any trades. With Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard under contract, many believed the Bucks would exploit one or both of their picks in a trade to acquire a veteran who could assist them win an NBA championship this year.
Instead, the Bucks selected 19-year-old AJ Johnson with their first-round pick. Johnson averaged 2.8 points in 7.7 minutes per game in Australia’s NBL last season. With their second-round pick, Milwaukee took 6-foot-3 power forward Tyler Smith, who is just 19 years ancient.
In other words, the Bucks were drafting for the future instead of using those picks to assist them acquire talent that could assist them win now. One NBA analyst believes they could have used those draft picks to pull off a gigantic trade that would have brought them a versatile forward to their defense.
NBA analyst says Milwaukee Bucks could trade first-round pick for Dorian Finney-Smith
As mentioned, many were confused by the Bucks’ picks in the NBA Draft. One of them was The Tribune ReportGreg Swartzwho wrote that Milwaukee could have traded its first-round draft pick for Dorian Finney-Smith from the Brooklyn Nets:
“Milwaukee should have traded this pick for a veteran with rotation potential.
“The Brooklyn Nets appear to be headed toward a rebuild after trading Mikal Bridges and didn’t have a single first-round pick. We’d prefer the Bucks pocket enough salary with their first-round pick to try to land a wing like Dorian Finney-Smith who can defend multiple positions and shoot.
“It was a mystery that Milwaukee stuck to its guns and took a 167-pound quarterback who would be unable to contribute to the team for years.”
Of course, the Bucks would have to include a player in this trade for it to work. Finney-Smith makes around $15 million per year, so the Bucks would have to include Bobby Portis, Pat Connaughton and/or a combination of other supporting players.
How would Dorian Finney-Smith fit into the Milwaukee Bucks?
As Swartz points out, Finney-Smith is a versatile defender who can play multiple positions. That’s the kind of player Milwaukee desperately needs on their roster. The fact that he’s also a career 35.5 percent three-point shooter doesn’t hurt either.
Adding Finney-Smith would give the Bucks options at forward. He’s a better defender than Khris Middleton, who plays the same position, but isn’t as good of a scorer or creator.
The Bucks would either move Middleton to shooting guard or bring Finney-Smith off the bench. Either scenario would significantly improve the Bucks roster.
It’s still unclear why they didn’t do something similar during the 2024 NBA draft.
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