For everything that’s gone wrong for the Milwaukee Bucks, and pretty much everything has gone wrong for the Bucks, the one ace up their sleeve is that, thanks to the Khris Middleton trade, they are now below the NBA’s second tax apron.
It’s not like that suddenly means the Bucks can pick up the pieces and become a contender again, but the team at least has options to acquire some help. Acquiring a star probably isn’t in the cards, but acquiring a two-way wing could be. Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley explained why Milwaukee should get Orlando Magic wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
“If the Bucks, who can put a couple gravitational pulls on opposing defenses with Antetokounmpo and a healthy Lillard, could help Caldwell-Pope find his form, they could get good mileage out of him yet. And they shouldn't have to pay much in trade cost to get him, given the degree of disappointment he generated this season,” Buckley wrote.
Caldwell-Pope has two championships under his belt, winning one with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 and one with the Denver Nuggets in 2023. He was a pivotal player for both teams. He’s coming off a sub-par season with the Orlando Magic and has two years left in his $66 million contract.
However, that could make him all the easier to acquire and a golden candidate for a reclamation project. Milwaukee would benefit big time if Caldwell-Pope can become the player he was for the Lakers and the Nuggets, and it could pay massive dividends for their playoff hopes. If the Bucks could get the best out of Kevin Porter Jr., the same can be done with Caldwell-Pope.
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