NBA Rumors: Bucks Must Trade Brandon Jennings in Light of Recent Comments
If Brandon Jennings is saying that he's looking at the possibility of going to a big market team, history shows that it will happen.
So, after reading his comments to ESPN's Chris Broussard, Bucks' fans who want to keep him around don't have much reason to be encouraged.
""I am going to keep my options open, knowing that the time is coming up. I'm doing my homework on big market teams."
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According Scott @ WFNY, this was later retracted.
He can say what he wants now, but the damage is done. If you have a person not only saying he's keeping his options open but also mentioning big market teams, it means that is where he wants to go. If someone is "doing homework" on big market teams, he is going to realize that the Bucks don't quite stack up.
Remember, this is a team that has only made the playoffs once in the last five seasons. They don't have a very clear direction. If you carry the "options open" quote out, then he won't sign an extension.
Right now, the only team that can sign him to an extension is the Bucks, which is the absolute opposite of keeping the options open.
At this point, the Bucks need to shop Jennings hard and pull the trigger on a trade. He has good value and the tale of the tape puts Jennings in a good light.
| Minutes Per Game | Points Per Game | Assists Per Game | Steals Per Game | |
| 2011-2012 | 35.6 | 18.9 | 5.3 | 1.6 |
| Career | 33.7 | 16.2 | 5.3 | 1.4 |
On top of that, Jennings is only 22, so he will have value to a lot of teams.
If a small market team like the Bucks is given a hint that a star player would prefer to be in a big market, they need to act fast. If they don't, then the risk is great that they will turn into the post-LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers.
Jennings has given that hint. Even if his backtracking ends up being true, it still doesn't bode well for the Bucks. Saying that "Milwaukee has been good to him" doesn't mean that they would have any advantage in bringing him back when his contract ends.
At this point, it comes down to cutting losses and getting the most you can from a player. If Jennings isn't interested in saying, the best they can get from Jennings comes in the value of other players and possibly draft picks.
Even if Jennings really is keeping his options open and market size doesn't matter, the Bucks lack of success in recent years does not bode well for keeping the young star.
The Bucks have two options as to what they can do with Jennings.
They can keep him and risk turning in to the aforementioned post-LeBron Cavs, or they can move him and build themselves after the post-Carmelo Anthony Nuggets. This is not that difficult of a choice. If Jennings is doing homework on other teams and markets, the Bucks need to send him elsewhere.
