Grade the Trade: Insiders Suggest 3 Milwaukee Bucks Moves To Add Talent This Summer

Kuzma wasn’t good last season, but he’s at least a rotation piece; even from the standpoint of playable bodies, Milwaukee wouldn’t be amazingly improved. They might be better off flipping Connaughton and second-rounders for Smith and Jevon Carter or Dosunmu. With seven seasons under his belt, the injury-prone Carter has regressed from the zenith of his once tantalizing potential, averaging 9.1 points on 46% shooting last season: both career-lows.

On a severely incomplete roster, the Bucks would do better simply looking to free agency, signing a point guard like Tyus Jones, and keeping their picks, either for themselves or a different trade – this summer or in the future.

Trade 2, via Zach Kram

Milwaukee Bucks get:

Cameron Johnson

Brooklyn Nets get:

Kyle Kuzma
2031 first-round pick
2032 first-round pick swap

Bucks grade: B+

This trade is fairly straightforward and is oft-mentioned in Bucks circles, so there’s no need to spend further time discussing it in-depth. Johnson would be a massive upgrade over Kuzma, providing plus defense, knockdown shooting and shot creation as a secondary scorer. Giving up those picks hurts, and it might be an overpay for what is essentially an elite-tier role player, but adding Johnson while subtracting Kuzma probably makes that a done deal from the Bucks’ perspective.

Trade 3, via Kevin Pelton

Milwaukee Bucks get:

Bradley Beal
Royce O’Neale
2025 first-round pick (No. 29)

Phoenix Suns get:

Pat Connaughton
Damian Lillard

Bucks grade: B

Hold on. At first glance this might seem a ridiculous proposal, but there a few things to consider. Lillard will miss most or all of next season. At that point, he will have one year left on his contract and who knows how he will look coming off injury at age 36. Beal is, well, washed, but still at worst a very good sixth man (17.0 PPG, 49.7/38.6/80.3% shooting splits last year). It’s being grossly overpaid that makes him such an albatross.

By swapping Dame’s salary for his, though, the Bucks would take care of the money element. Both players’ deals expire after 2026-27. In Beal, Milwaukee would get guaranteed production while Dame recovers from Achilles surgery. The one major caveat is that Beal has his own extensive – extensive – injury history. He is much older than his than 31 years of age would suggest. For whatever it’s worth, he also has a notorious no-trade clause.

The rest of the trade is the real reason the Bucks would do it. Royce O’Neale is a versatile role player who can guard both forward positions. He is streaky but can catch fire from outside and is a decent rebounder.

His numbers last season: 9.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 40.6 3P%. He is basically the premium version of Taurean Prince. He is under contract for three more seasons and owed $10.1 million in 2025-26.

The Bucks would also get some badly needed draft capital, just for getting the Suns off Beal, now a hated villain in Phoenix. The 29th pick isn’t a homerun play by any stretch, but it’s better than anything they have this draft and isn’t something to thumb your nose at. The Bucks are certainly not in a position to do so. They could use the pick on a plug-and-play contributor the same way they are looking to employ their 47th selection in the second round.

Dame is popular in Milwaukee, but because the Bucks hold onto their own draft assets, this is the clear second-best option among ESPN’s proposals.