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After winning an NBA title a season ago, the Milwaukee Bucks once again look like a team that can win a championship.
They have done a great job from the front office perspective of going out and getting the right pieces to play next to Giannis Antetokounmpo, but there are still some things that they are going to need to address at the deadline.
Let's take a look at three mistakes the Milwaukee Bucks must avoid in order to repeat as champions.
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Bucks Must Avoids 2022
3. There are many trade options, but they must choose wisely
The Bucks are going to be facing an interesting decision at the NBA trade deadline because they do have a bunch of guys that they could decide to get rid of. Whether that guy is Donte DiVincenzo, Semi Ojeleye, Rodney Hood, or even somebody Like Jordan Nwora.
It would be interesting for the Bucks to decide to get rid of Nwora because in his minutes he has looked very good recently. This kid is going to be a good scorer in the NBA one day if the Bucks do decide to get rid of him and that could come back to hurt them. They're obviously some concerns about his inability to pass and defend at times, but he can easily be a spark off the bench which is something that the Bucks are going to need in the playoffs. There is a very good chance that he will never see a minute in the playoffs, but if they do need him, he is instant offense and he could help the Bucks if they are struggling to score.
It will be interesting to see what they do with Donte DiVincenzo because when he is healthy, he is a very good player and is somebody that the Bucks could use. Unfortunately, he hasn't played much this season due to some unfortunate injuries and there is a very good chance that the Bucks do decide to move on from him.
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Rodney Hood and Semi Ojeleye are definitely two players that the Bucks can afford to get rid of and if they could somehow package both of those guys with maybe one other player and get back a decent return, it is something that GM Jon Horst is going to do.
2. Have to go out and get another center
Should the Bucks have traded DeMarcus Cousins? Probably not.
Jon Horst has not made many questionable decisions in his time as the general manager and there is no reason to think that this one would be any different. Cousins definitely could have helped the Bucks at the moment because they are very short at the center position and definitely don't have the depth that they were hoping for.
The reality of this situation with DeMarcus Cousins is that he probably wasn't going to get many minutes in the playoffs due to his lack of defense. If Bobby Portis could not get on the floor last year against the Brooklyn Nets, which obviously wasn't necessarily the right move but we can't say it's the wrong move because it did work out for the Bucks, then Boogie Cousins probably isn't going to get on the court for the Bucks in the playoffs.
There aren't many centers out there who could really help this Bucks team and come in and make an immediate impact. They could decide to go all in on somebody like Myles Turner, but that might cost them some of their key guys including Brook Lopez and Donte DiVincenzo. It would be a questionable decision to get rid of Lopez because he has been a staple of this Bucks team for the past few years and it would just be bad business to get rid of him.
Milwaukee desperately needs somebody who could fill in about seven to 15 minutes a night at that center position so they're going to have to go out and get somebody.
1. Don't be scared to make multiple moves at the deadline
The Bucks can't get complacent here just because they haven't been healthy and have still found some success against the other top teams in the Eastern Conference such as the Brooklyn Nets. They have to go all-in just like they always do and when Horst is your GM, there is no reason to think that the Bucks won't. They clearly need to get somebody who can be thrown on Kevin Durant, even though Wesley Matthews has done a great job on him the last time that the Bucks played the Nets.
There are still some other options at that forward position who the Bucks can also go out and get and it would make a lot of sense from their perspective because although Matthews did do a good job against Durant, he is still older in his career and if he was to ever get injured, the Bucks wouldn't have any sort of answer for him.
