The Milwaukee Bucks already pushed their chips to the center of the table in acquiring Eric Bledsoe in a trade with the Phoenix Suns earlier this season. Now, they could be ready to add a franchise big man to the mix as well.
Longtime Bucks writer Gery Woelfel reported the team is making a "concerted push" to trade for Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan. No deal is imminent, but the Clippers have made their demands known.
The Clippers reportedly want at least two—if not all three—of center John Henson, guard Malcolm Brogdon and swingman Khris Middleton in exchange for Jordan.
That compensation package seems unlikely to be workable from Milwaukee's perspective. Brogdon and Middleton are two of the team's best two-way players.
Brogdon, the NBA's Rookie of the Year, is averaging 13.1 points, 3.7 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game in his second season. He's also a plus defender and excellent secondary ball-handler.
Middleton is the Bucks' best player who does not hail from Greece and is finally healthy after a lost 2016-17. He's averaging a career-best 19.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.
Brogdon and Middleton are borderline ideal modern NBA role players, guys who move the ball, stretch the floor and can defend multiple positions.
Their versatility is vital to everything the Bucks do on both ends of the floor. Henson is a solid rotation player but nothing the team couldn't do without in a Jordan trade. The issue here is finding a middle ground that does not further sacrifice spacing which is already a little cramped with Bledsoe and Giannis Antetokounmpo sharing the floor.
If the Bucks want to buy low, they may wind up targeting Jahlil Okafor. The disgruntled Philadelphia 76ers big man is clearly available for trade on the cheap.
The Sixers' treatment of the 21-year-old has reflected poorly on the organization all season, especially with it being unlikely they get much more than a protected second-round pick and salary filler in return.
The Bucks have interest in Okafor, per Woefel, but no deal is close. Okafor could fulfill the bench role Greg Monroe vacated in the Bledsoe trade, works from an age perspective with this core and could be motivated playing near his hometown of Chicago, Illinois.
Also working in Okafor's favor: It's not Philly, which may be the only thing he cares about at this point.
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