Milwaukee Bucks Must Trade Michael Carter-Williams Before 2015-16 Trade Deadline

After making the playoffs in Jason Kidd’s first season as head coach, the Milwaukee Bucks were a team on the rise heading into the 2015-16 season. Kidd’s absence after hip surgery has surely been a factor, but the Bucks currently have a 20-31 record and are 6.5 games out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

There aren’t many players on the Bucks’ roster that look tradeable right now, but Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times reported on Thursday that point guard Michael Carter-Williams and center Greg Monroe are two players Milwaukee may be willing to put on the trade block ahead of the Feb. 18 deadline. Monroe seems unlikely to be moved, as he was Milwaukee’s prize free agent signing last summer. Munroe has solid numbers (16.6 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game) and defensive shortcomings the team had to have realized before signing him (0.9 blocks per game this season). But there is a strong case to be made for moving Carter-Williams.

The Bucks acquired Carter-Williams from the Philadelphia 76ers at last year’s trade deadline, as part of a three-team deal that sent Brandon Knight from Milwaukee to Phoenix. The pairing of the former Rookie of the Year and Kidd looked very promising at the time, but Woelfel pointed out in his report that the team is 18 games under .500 since that trade.

Overall consistency has been an issue for Carter-Williams throughout his tenure with the Bucks, and the issues with three-point shooting (31.7 percent) and turnovers (2.8 per game) that followed him to Milwaukee have not gone away this season.

The Bucks picked up Carter-Williams’ $3.18 million option for 2016-17, with nothing locked in on his contract after that, so that alone should drive a solid trade market. Add in his youth (24 years old), and Carter-Williams stands out as a significant trade chip.

Without Carter-Williams, Milwaukee’s point guard dept chart would include Jerryd Bayless, minimally used second-year man Tyler Ennis and a currently sidelined by an ankle issue Greivis Vasquez. That is obviously a dismal situation for a team with a lot of other promising pieces, but if the Bucks can get a suitable point guard in return for Carter-Williams, the motivation to move him should only get stronger.