Roundtable: Hypothetical Trade Season!

Welcome back to the Brew Hoop Round Table, where we ask that everybody use coasters and please don’t feed the pugs from the table, thanks. It’s trade season, and with Boogie Cousins kicking off the week with a bombshell, we’re tossing out our favorite hypothetical trades that might make sense for the Bucks in advance of tomorrow’s deadline.

Alright gang, let’s start with a non-exciting one.

Bucks get: Emmanuel Mudiay, Darrell Arthur

Nuggets get: John Henson

Adam: I’d be surprised if the Nuggets wanted to shell out an asset for another center, particularly given they just traded a first round pick to snag Mason Plumlee, but Henson would provide insurance if Denver balks at paying Plumlee in free agency. I very much enjoyed the stylings of Emmanuel Mudiay to start last season, but it seems that his inability to shoot is constantly holding him back. As much as his preternatural passing sense feels far, far more advanced than Michael Carter-Williams, I’m wary to hop back in that non-shooting point guard boat. That being said, if I can get Emmanuel Mudiay for John Henson, I’m taking it. Mudiay’s a better asset in a vacuum and I think you could flip him for something more valuable to a team looking for a point guard upgrade. Vlade? Vlade is that you calling?

Mitchell: I see no reason why Denver would want to offload Mudiay so quickly, even though he has not looked very good thus far. I would be fine taking a cheap flier on him, though. No question. Darrell Arther is a big guy who can shoot, which might make him a more valuable piece on the Bucks than John Henson. Henson could help shore up Jokic’s defensive shortcomings, and they would have a fun high-low game since Jokic is a friggin’ passing savant.

Dylan: Weirdest thing about getting Mudiay on the Bucks would be the logjam at point guard with Delly and Brogdon still on the roster. Definitely would make a promising combination with Mudiay and Brogdon moving into the future, and open up opportunities for Middleton to play more 3 instead of shooting guard.

Let’s try to trade Henson again!

Bucks get: Nikola Pekovic, Tyus Jones

Timberwolves get: John Henson

Mitchell: Tyus Jones is interesting, and the Bucks could use guard depth. Jones would be the smallest point guard next to Delly and Malcolm Brogdon, and would give Jason Kidd another ball-handler to deploy when Dellavedova is cold or if Brogdon ever hits the rookie wall. Nikola Pekovic is as wide as Henson is long, but won’t play until fully rehabbed from an Achilles tendon injury. I’m sure he and Roy Hibbert will make a fun pairing at the end of the bench.

Eric B: I can’t feel anything about this one.

Dylan: Pekovic has another year on his contract, but that’s less than Henson and the dollars are only a little higher. The Pekovic injury makes him a much greater question mark moving forward than the younger, healthier Henson. Jones would be another interesting piece in the guard rotation, but I still can’t shake the deafening boos that were reigned down upon him when they played that preseason game in Madison last year.

Work was slow today.

Bucks get: Sam Dekker, Isaiah Canaan, Doug McDermott

Rockets get: Nikola Mirotic, Rashad Vaughn, Milwaukee’s 2017 2nd Round Pick

Bulls get: Matthew Dellavedova, K.J. McDaniels, Chinanu Onuaku

Mitchell: Dekker and McDermott would be fun forwards to play with if the team didn’t already have Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker (get well soon, bud!), Khris Middleton, Michael Beasley, and Mirza Teletovic taking time at the forward spots. Canaan has been ice-cold this season, but would be a fun guard to lead the bench. I think Mirotic is sneaky-good fit in Houston, and would mesh well with D’Antoni’s system.

Eric B: Oh so the Bulls want another one of their shooters to perform better in Milwaukee? This trade seems reasonably sound, but I don’t anticipate an eight player, three-team deal happening with zero stars involved. Dekker back to Wisconsin would be cool, but also obnoxious.

Dylan: Dekker would be an interesting piece on this Bucks team with his shooting and playmaking ability, and it would no doubt make so many Badger fans happy. I really don’t want to do that to him though. McDermott would bring the same wing skills and could be a good reclamation project for the Bucks. Vaughn is an interesting piece for any Bucks trade this season because I think the whole fan base and maybe even the coaching staff are so torn on whether they need to cut bait or double down on him. Dellavedova on the Bulls would be better if Thibs was still the coach.

Let’s pile on Sacramento some more!

Bucks get: Willie Cauley-Stein, Garrett Temple

Kangz Kings get: John Henson, Rashad Vaughn, Milwaukee’s 2018 1st Round Pick

Adam: The theoretical idea of Willie Cauley-Stein as a fleet of foot defensive center has always been something I’ve thought would be a perfect fit with the Bucks’ frenetic scheme. I’m not entirely sure that theoretical will ever come to pass though, and I’m a little leery of ever giving up 1st round picks with the Bucks’ upcoming cap situation. If Cauley-Stein had left after his freshman year instead of his junior year, I’d be ecstatic about this. Also, Rashad Vaughn sounds like precisely the type of “he can shoot!” guy that Vivek would like and at least John Henson would smile amidst the flaming wreckage in Sacramento.

Eric B: [cups hands and shouts to Vivek] I hear that Rashad has Steph Curry type ability!

If I knew more about WCS, I’d have a stronger opinion on this, but for the price of a first-round pick, I’m not pulling the trigger. He’s intriguing and I agree that he appears to be a fit, but I personally only want to involve first rounders if they net something clearly valuable.

Dylan: From what I’ve heard about WCS he hasn’t improved much with his hands or his passing. Maybe he’d be a comparable Larry Sanders-esque player - minus the bottle breaking-fights in downtown Milwaukee hopefully - but he would be a fun piece to see plugged into the system. I wouldn’t balk at giving up these two players, because frankly they wouldn’t be missed dearly, but that first round pick is tough to part with considering the next years Buck’s team will probably be in this fringe lottery/playoffs arena once again.

Crazy enough to work! (Note: This maniacal trade was conceived before Lou Williams was whisked away to Houston last night)

Bucks get: Jose Calderon, Trey Burke, Danuel House, Los Angeles 2018 2nd Round Pick

Wizards get: Lou Williams, Marcelo Huertas

Lakers get: Matthew Dellavedova, Andrew Nicholson, Rashad Vaughn, Wizards 2017 1st Round Pick

Mitchell: So here’s my rationale for this trade: the Wizards need help to bolster their bench, and the Lakers need to be bad in order to try and keep their pick. In facilitating this deal, the Bucks get out from under Delly’s contract while taking a flier on Trey Burke, get a possible prospect in House (big 3&D wing), and a bonus second round pick.

Adam: This is bonkers, but does somehow provide some solutions for each team. I think the Wizards shoring up their bench seems like a no-brainer, and Delly is that much closer to Australia by winding up in LA (who gets a nice haul by the way), but I’m not totally sold on what Milwaukee gets in return. Sure, they shouldn’t get much for Vaughn and Delly but it feels a bit too much like swapping expired milk for stale cereal if that makes any sense.

Dylan: Although the Lou Williams sweepstakes looks to have resolved itself, this trade is the perfect level of “Who the heck did we trade for?” combined with “How many players are involved in this trade?” It would be nice to get out of the Delly contract, but I feel like Vaughn might be more valuable than Burke for the Bucks at this point in time - which isn’t saying much, I know. Delly and Vaughn would be interesting pieces to watch in Luke Walton’s system in LA, and they’d reunite the championship-winning combination of Dellavedova and Timofey Mozgov!