Damian Lillard Trade Rumors Could Massively Set Bucks Back

The Milwaukee Bucks are in a rough spot entering the offseason. Giannis Antetokounmpo is heavily involved in trade rumors, and Damian Lillard may miss the entire next season.

Interestingly enough, the Bucks could try and circumvent Lillard's injury by moving him instead of Antetokounmpo. In a Bleacher Report article about potential trades nobody is talking about, Grant Hughes proposes the Bucks should trade Lillard for Bradley Beal.

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On paper, this seems like a bad trade given Bradley Beal has struggled ever since being acquired by the Phoenix Suns, but he is at least a player who will be on the court next season.

Each player has the same remaining amount on their contract. That means that some draft capital may need to be involved and a third team needs to be involved to make everything work.

The Suns would do this to potentially gain some draft capital. Despite being an older roster, they have struggled, and need to reset.

Acquiring an injured player to gain other assets would be smart business based on the position they are in currently as a franchise.

The Bucks don't want to struggle next year and risk losing Antetokounmpo by a trade request or free agency in the future, so trading an injured player for a non-injured player with a somewhat similar skillset makes a lot of sense.

If Beal struggles and doesn't put up at least close to the production that Lillard was able to put up when healthy, then the trade could turn out to be a bad one in hindsight, but it would at least show Antetokounmpo the team is trying to build up the roster around him, and did so in a way that doesn't change future flexibility.

If Beal doesn't work out, the Bucks can trade him in a similar way that they might've had to trade Lillard anyways given both players are similar in age and salary.

Everyone is talking about potential trades for Antetokounmpo, but Lillard may be the best option for the team to trade this offseason. The team needs to find a way to improve the team as quickly as possible without hamstringing themselves, and moving Lillard for Beal would be a deal that would fit that idea.

The Bucks may prefer to trade Lillard for players with better contracts that are still helpful in the short term, but that ideal trade might not exist. If the team decides it wants to move Lillard due to his injury, trading for Beal may be the only option they have.

More Milwaukee Bucks news:

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Bucks Believe That Only Doc Rivers Can Keep Giannis Antetokounmpo in Town: Report

Multiple NBA Agents Offer Unfortunate Prediction For Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo

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