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After a nightmare start to the 2024-25 season, the Milwaukee Bucks are slowly coming back to life. They're currently the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 26-22 record.
Milwaukee also emerged victorious at the NBA Cup, replenishing its hopes to win another championship. But although the team is finally playing like a playoff contender, the Bucks still have some holes in their roster that need to be addressed. But with the trade deadline fast approaching, time is not on their side.
For this piece, let's take a look at what a Bucks' nightmare scenario for the 2025 NBA trade deadline would look like.
Bucks fail to upgrade their frontcourt
Any basketball fan will agree that Giannis is having another MVP-worthy season, putting up 31.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. However, the Greek Freak has struggled to find help in Milwaukee's frontcourt. For now, the Bucks rank 18th in the rebounding department at 43.9 per game. They also rank dead last in the league in offensive rebounding with only 8.5 per game.
Outside of Giannis, the big bodies in the Bucks' roster include Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis. While both were instrumental in the team's championship run back in 2021, Lopez at 36 years old was never exactly known as a rebounding threat. On the other hand, Portis seems to have slowed down in terms of his offensive rebounding tenacity at only 1.7 per game this year.
Fortunately, the Bucks have options to make some upgrades at the trade deadline. The most realistic target in the market was Jonas Valanciunas, who's expected to rake in $9.9 million in salary for the 2024-25 season. The 6-foot-11 center is a reliable bruiser who can make his presence around the rim. He is also averaging 8.2 rebounds per game, 2.4 offensively, which should've helped address Milwaukee's rebounding issue. Unfortunately, he was recently traded to the Sacramento Kings.
With Valanciunas taken off the market, the Bucks have limited options left to make some upgrades in their frontcourt. As a result, it'll only demand more production from the Greek Freak on the rebounding end to compensate for the team's major weakness this year.
Not landing a perimeter defender
Another key department that the Bucks need to address is their perimeter defense. By now, the team should've realized that Lillard was in no way filling in the impact that Jrue Holiday makes out on the perimeter defensively. Moreover, the departure of Khris Middleton leaves a glaring hole in the wings of their roster. While Kuzma's addition can help fill that, he's still in the midst of one of the worst seasons of his career. It remains to be seen whether he can answer the call as the Bucks' premiere perimeter defender.
As a result, it wasn't surprising that the team had their eye on the Martin twins. Unfortunately, Caleb Martin was already traded by the Philadelphia 76ers to the Dallas Mavericks. This leaves only Cody Martin available in the trade market. Among the two twins, Caleb would've been more ideal, given that he also possesses some playoff experience with the Miami Heat. Cody would still be a solid addition to the Bucks' championship campaign.
But given that Cody has proven to be a reliable two-way player, other contenders are also racing to acquire his services. Contenders like the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, and New York Knicks are reportedly interested in making a move for him.
Coming into the postseason handicapped on the defensive end would spell the playoff demise for Milwaukee. With the duo of Lillard and Giannis, there's no question that they have no shortage of firepower on offense. But defense wins championships and the Bucks will have to face that reality once more if they don't land the perimeter defender they need.