Fans were a little disappointed last month when the Bucks didn’t do much at the trade deadline. The team didn’t perform as well as expected and some expected general manager Jon Horst to make quite a few roster changes, but it ended up being a relatively uneventful day. And, in hindsight, we kind of should have expected that.
Horst has been the general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks for quite some time now. He got the job in 2017 and has since played a key role in the franchise’s success, building a championship roster and keeping the team in contention for half a decade. But he was never a big advocate of trade deadlines. He usually tries to tweak the roster a bit to fix some of its issues, but tends to wait until the offseason to make the big moves.
However, these small adjustments can often have a significant impact. That’s why, right after his seventh trade deadline as general manager, we’re going to take a look at his body of work and rank every move he’s made on that date.
Before we begin, it’s worth mentioning that we will try to balance how each movement feels then and how it feels now. It would be unfair to be truly critical of a decision that seemed really good at the time it was made, but it’s simply fair to take into account if a deal hasn’t reached the level of success expected.
We have to start with two professions that can barely be described by this word. In 2021, the Bucks sent Torrey Craig to Phoenix for cash and did the same thing this year with Robin Lopez, who ended up being traded to Sacramento, two moves that are actually closer to a waiver than a waiver. ‘a real exchange. Milwaukee just needed to clear a roster spot to be able to be active in the buyout market and they did it, that’s all that needs to be said.
If he had held the Bucks under the seconds limit, Lopez’s could have held because it would have had an impact, but that was not the case. The team just saved a little money, that’s all.
Now we can really start with the first real exchange
In this trade, the Bucks received Serge Ibaka and two second-round picks, and sent Donte DiVincenzo to the Kings and Semie Oyeleje and Rodney Hood to the Clippers in exchange.
This decision is the one that has aged the most. You can see what the Bucks were going for, but it seemed a little weird even at the time and it looks a lot worse two years later. With a little perspective, we can see how Ibaka wasn’t really an important piece for the Bucks during his tenure and DiVincenzo solidified himself as a solid role player, which was actually to be expected since he had a good performance during his years in Milwaukee.
Injuries, however, played a big role in this decision. Donte only played 17 of 56 games with the Bucks before the trade due to his physical issues, and even when he could be on the court, he was far from his best. At the same time, Brook Lopez was also injured and the Bucks defense was showing some flaws, so they needed a rim protector to help them. Given that the three players included in the deal weren’t a big part of the rotation at all, it seems on paper that the team could solve a problem without giving up too much in return.
Needless to say, it didn’t really work out that way. Ibaka has never been more useful since he was long past his prime, and DiVincenzo has proven that, when healthy, he can make a big impact on both ends of the court and be a player who could really fit into today’s Bucks roster. In shooting, Milwaukee not only didn’t find what it was looking for, but it also lost a valuable piece along the way.
In this trade, the Bucks received Tyler Zeller and sent Rashad Vaughn and a protected second-round pick to the Nets in exchange.
Yes, it happened. But I’m not going to blame you for not remembering it because it seems like a fever dream.
This move is a bit strange, as 2018 was the only year since Horst became general manager when the Bucks failed to reach the trade deadline as a contender. In fact, they had just fired Jason Kidd and were in something of a transition year, fighting for a playoff spot but with more room for experimentation.
This situation meant that non-impact trades like this weren’t really a big deal. Because, let’s be real, this one is a pretty forgettable decision. Zeller got some minutes in the playoffs and even started four of the seven games in the first-round series against Boston, but never played a significant role and left the franchise that same year.
The only reason this move is better than Ibaka’s is because the Bucks didn’t lose any big players. Vaughn was barely in the rotation and struggled to find a place in the NBA after leaving Milwaukee. I wasn’t a victory, but it wasn’t a defeat either.
In that trade, the Buckes received Nikola Mirotic and sent Thon Maker to Detroit and Jason Smith and four second-round picks to New Orleans in exchange.
Now we come to some bigger names. Because while this trade didn’t work out as well as expected, it was Mirotic who had the biggest impact of the players we’ve talked about so far.
The fact is that it didn’t have that big of an impact. He had a decent regular season, averaging 11.6 points per game while shooting 35.6% from three, but those numbers really fell off in the playoffs, where he just shot 28.9% behind the bow. This was made more painful by the fact that he had an incredible playoff run the year before, torching the Portland Trail Blazers with a 46.2% from three in the first round and ending with a 43.1% after the two rounds played by the Pelicans that year. A level he didn’t even come close to while wearing the Bucks jersey.
Some might argue that this trade is ranked too highly due to this disappointment, and there might be some truth to that. In terms of expectations versus reality, this decision is quite disappointing, but it still allowed the Bucks to find a decent player who had good games. Even if they weren’t the games where we needed him the most.
In this trade, the Bucks received Jae Crowder and sent George Hill, Serge Ibaka, Jordan Nwora and three second-round picks to the Pacers and two second-round picks to the Nets in exchange.
This decision can be very difficult to talk about, as it could resemble Mirotic’s decision if we only focus on the 22-23 season. Crowder hadn’t played a single game before landing in Milwaukee, and his performance really said it. He was far from the great 3&D player he had been in Phoenix and struggled to be an integral part of Mike Bundenholzer’s rotation, so Bucks fans could only feel disappointment. But, on the other hand, him being on the roster allowed the franchise to re-sign him in free agency, and the difference from season to season was pretty noticeable.
Crowder started the season shooting 51.6 percent from three before getting injured, and even though his shooting declined after his return, he still made an impact at defensive end. More importantly, he’s already shown how lethal he can be as a shooter this very season, so we can expect him to get back to that and provide some key shots from now on.
However, bringing him to Milwaukee was a bit more expensive than it probably should be, since five second-round picks were a bit too much. For comparison, the Phoenix Suns only sent three second-round picks to Brooklyn in exchange for Royce O’Neal, a player whose role is quite similar to Crowder’s. This trade was one of the reasons the Bucks had so little draft capital at this past trade deadline, meaning they weren’t able to pull off a move as big as most fans wanted it.
They still took a good step. Because…
In that trade, the Bucks received Patrick Beverley and sent Cameron Payen and a second-round pick to the 76ers in return.
It’s not really fair to compare this trade to others since, for better or worse, Beverley hasn’t had much time to show how impactful he can be. But even in this short time, he is already a highly regarded player. And it is for a reason.
To say the Bucks defense was repaired after his trade would be quite an exaggeration, but there’s no doubt he helped. His fights are so changeable in energy that you can really notice it when he jumps on the field, it’s truly like a breath of fresh air after a few months where the second unit couldn’t stop anyone. The Clippers game was a perfect example of what he could mean for the team in big games, he was super disruptive and wasn’t even afraid to take big shots on the offensive end, becoming one of protagonists of this enormous victory.
The same aspects that made him so great against the Clippers, however, could end up hurting the Bucks on some nights. He can be foul prone at times and get the other team to the free throw line too early, he’s not afraid to shoot if the opponent doesn’t get him close but he’s probably not the player you want to count… But for now it seems like a good addition.
If its flaws began to show, this profession might be ranked a little lower. But, on the other hand, if he proves this valuable in the playoffs, it could even dethrone the number one trade on the list. Although it would be really difficult.
In this trade, the Bucks received PJ Tucker and Rodions Kurucks and sent DJ Augustin, DJ Wilson, a first round pick and a second round pick to the Rockets in exchange.
I would have loved to save a big move for last, but there was really no way this trade would be ranked lower than the first. Tucker was instrumental in the roster that helped Milwaukee win its second championship in 2021, putting him ahead of the rest of the roster.
Tucker’s numbers in Milwaukee seem anything but impressive, but if you’ve seen him, you know. After DiVincenzo went down with an injury, he took his place in the starting lineup and made every one of his minutes on the court count. While his teammates played basketball, he went to war, taking the hardest attacks and trying to slow down hot players like Kevind Durant and Devin Booker. And he delivered.
Tucker will always be remembered as a key member of the championship roster. Not the most talented and not the one who appears in the photos doing the close-up, but the one who did all the dirty work that needed to be done. And, because of that, it would be foolish not to consider this one the best move Jon Horst has made at the trade deadline since becoming general manager of the Bucks.
