The Milwaukee Bucks started the NBA trade season early this year, as they moved Ersan Ilyasova in a deal to the Pistons for Caron Butler and now the team may target names like Brook Lopez, Tyson Chandler and Greg Monroe in free agency to help Jason Kidd, as the Bucks are getting back Jabari Parker from injury and could be a surprise in the east.
The team has new ownership and after making the playoffs for the first time in years, the franchise has some energy coming into the playoffs. According to NBA.com, the team just traded Ilyasova to the Pistons for Caron Butler and Shawne Williams and that will help the team save some money moving forward. Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo writes that this deal was about saving money, as the Bucks can clear $6 million in space since the deals for Williams and Butler are not guaranteed.
Ilyasova has been a solid young player, but the team wanted some flexibility, as they may be active in free agency this summer. According to Marc Stein of ESPN, the team could end up with $30 million in cap space this offseason after making the trade with the Pistons if they waive Williams and Butler and that puts them in play for free agents. Stein writes that Tyson Chandler and Brook Lopez are on the "wish list" for the team and is seeking to add a center this offseason.
Stein writes that Kidd has a relationship with both players from his time in Brooklyn, which had Chandler in New York with the Knicks and Lopez one of his players with the Nets. The team is expecting to "chase them both hard" in free agency and if they miss out, a player like Monroe could be in the mix. Some trade options out there include Roy Hibbert and Taj Gibson, while DeAndre Jordan is on the market, but that is an unlikely option.
The Bucks also could make a play for Roy Hibbert this offseason, as the Pacers shopped him last summer and likely will do it again. According to Pro Basketball Talk, teams like the Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers showed interest in Hibbert last year and now he could be in play again. The Pacers were one of the top teams in the east before last season and they won their division , but this year the team missed the playoffs. The Bucks made the playoffs and they showed some real progress this past year with Kidd as coach.
The Bulls were much better after adding Pau Gasol and the Cleveland Cavaliers are into the finals with their combination of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and now Kevin Love, although the latter two are now injured. The Pacers now may have to make some big moves to stay the pace with the Cavs and Bulls and trading Hibbert could help free up money to do that, especially with Paul George on his way back. The Pacers suffered a major loss with George getting injured and they are hoping he has a strong comeback next season.
