Gathering the latest Milwaukee Bucks trade rumors before 2022-23 season
By Dalton Sell
After spending the majority of the 2022 NBA offseason out of the news, the Milwaukee Bucks have done a complete one-eighty over the past few weeks.
The Bucks have been mentioned in countless trade rumors lately, and it seems like the team is doing its due diligence around the league before the season begins. With that said, let us take a look at the latest trade rumors involving the Bucks and break them down.
Rumor No. 1 – The Milwaukee Bucks had trade interest in a pair of previously available power forwards
Adding a power forward was among the boxes to check on general manager Jon Horst’s to-do list this offseason. Horst managed to do so rather quickly as he inked Joe Ingles to a one-year deal the day NBA free agency began, giving the Milwaukee Bucks some depth at the position. However, the Bucks will likely not see Ingles in action until the latter half of the upcoming season as he recovers from an ACL injury he suffered last season. With Ingles set to miss time, it certainly makes sense that the Bucks were rumored to be looking at a pair of well-known power forwards.
The first forward the Bucks were reportedly looking at was Jerami Grant. ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on his podcast that Milwaukee was “sneakily kind of sniffing around Jerami Grant” before he got traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. Lowe added that the Bucks like the idea of adding switchable guys, which is precisely what Grant is. Due to his scoring, defense, and versatility, Grant would be a perfect fit with the Bucks, but the Blazers swooped in and got him from the Detroit Pistons. It is unclear how persistent the Bucks were in their pursuit of Grant, but it seems like they may have just been checking in.
Lowe also reported on ESPN+ (subscription required) that the Bucks had some discussions about acquiring Bojan Bogdanovic. The forward was one of the last veterans standing for the Utah Jazz after they entered a full-on rebuild this offseason. Bogdanovic was traded to the aforementioned Pistons, taking yet another power forward off the board for the Bucks. While Bogdanovic would not have provided the same defensive intensity and switchability as Grant, he would have given the Bucks another top-notch scorer.
In addition to both players simply being household names, the interesting thing about these two being linked to Milwaukee is their respective salaries. Grant is scheduled to make $21 million for the 2022-23 season, while Bogdanovic will make $19.3 million in that same timeframe. Those two deals are pretty significant, especially for a team like the Bucks that lacks financial flexibility. The trade packages the Bucks would have had to put together for those two would have been an interesting sight to see, given the significant salaries. Ultimately, it is just history now.