The Milwaukee Bucks, despite having to deal with injury problems to Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis, have remained one of the best teams in the league with a 37-17 record at the time of writing. However, the Bucks know the value of adding some much-needed insurance to help protect them when the injury bug strikes at an inopportune time, like it did during their playoff run last year. Thus, it's no surprise that they have found themselves linked to a potential trade for veteran help in the form of New York Knicks point guard Derrick Rose.

According to Marc Stein (subscription required), the Bucks have “expressed trade interest” in the 2011 league MVP. However, there may not be realistic scenario where Rose ends up in Milwaukee. Stein added that “it's difficult to to see a pathway to Milwaukee absorbing Rose’s $14.5 million salary”.

While adding Derrick Rose should definitely help give the Bucks more backcourt scoring punch off the bench, adding a guard via trade may also not be the Bucks' number-one priority. The Bucks have previously expressed interest in trading for Jae Crowder and even another Knicks outcast in Cam Reddish, signifying that their focus is on reinforcing their team on the wing.

This focus on bolstering their wing depth is understandable, given how Khris Middleton's untimely injury in last year's playoffs effectively spelled doom for the Bucks in their series against the Boston Celtics. Middleton is playing better as of late, but the Bucks have yet to return him to his pre-injury workload.

Nevertheless, the Knicks appear hell-bent on “doing right” by Derrick Rose, given his relationship with head coach Tom Thibodeau, so if the Knicks fail to find a trade for the veteran guard, it makes sense for them to buy him out eventually and allow him to sign for a team that would give him minutes. And perhaps by then, the Bucks could revisit their interest in the former MVP.