PG Michael Carter-Williams has been traded from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for SF Tony Snell.
This was a very small move, hence evidently it can't really be so bad for either side, but it nonetheless appears to be simply not necessary for Milwaukee. With Matthew Dellavedova, Jason Terry, and Jared Cunningham comprising the rest of the Bucks' point guard depth, it didn't exactly make much sense on the surface to trade away Carter-Williams, whom is arguably the most talented of that group and was expecting 30+ minutes per game.
The 25 year-old (and his 6'7" wingspan) has indeed flashed much potential over the course of his young career. He earned himself ROY honors in Philadelphia in 2014 before a disappointing sophomore season, in which the point guard was traded to Milwaukee and criticized for inefficient shooting and a high turnover rate. This past season, while his stats continued to decline -- 11.5 points, 5.2 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game -- he did manage to cap his turnovers at 2.8 per game and shoot a very respectable 45.2% from the floor. Hence while MCW has proven that he is unable to successfully lead a team (exhibit A: Philly), he has settled nicely into his niche as a lengthy defender who can also dish it out on offense. Thus it is unlikely that he will ever develop into the player that many expected him to be after his very impressive ROY campaign in 2014, especially given the fact that Carter-Williams' jump-shot -- the facet of his game that has received the most criticism at every level of his career -- remains a major work in progress.
So it is not crazy for the Bucks to want to trade MCW. Given the presence of ball-dominant scorers on the roster such as SF/SG/PF Giannis "The Greek Freak" Antetokounmpo, PF/C Greg Monroe, and hopefully eventually SF/SG Jabari Parker, Milwaukee really needs to focus on spreading the floor more. And at present, they are severely lacking in three-point marksmen, and their spacing on offense has suffered as a result; needless to say, Carter-Williams and his career 25.5% three-point shooting are not helping that cause. In fact, after MCW got injured midway through last year, the emerging young star darling known as "The Greek Freak" nearly multiplied his stats by 1.5 across the board: Giannis averaged 19.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.9 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game while Carter-Williams was sidelined. It's hard to say if Antetokounmpo is really that much better simply due to more spacing on the court, but this drastic improvement in their star's performance with the PG off the court was probably the main motive for GM John Hammond to deal MCW away.
Yet while the logic behind the concept of the trade may make sense, the concrete value received in return is puzzling. What would have made more sense is if Hammond went out and got the three-point shooting point guard that he wanted (or at least, 'should have wanted'). Instead he got Tony Snell -- who can indeed shoot, as evidenced by him connecting on about one three per game at an impressive 36.1% clip last year -- but who plays small forward, not point guard. Milwaukee's wing rotation was already pretty solid even after the injury to Khris Middleton, so why would Hammond target a wingman in order to improve the team's spacing instead of a point guard to simply replace MCW in the lineup?
The answer is in fact clear. The rumors are true, for there's only one possible explanation: the Milwaukee Bucks plans to use Giannis Antetokounmpo at point guard a great deal.
Whether that is a good idea or not deserves special attention and is beyond the scope of this Trade Grade article. For now, let's just give the Bucks a decent grade and props for identifying and alleviating their problem of three-point shooting.
Grade: B+
The 25 year-old (and his 6'7" wingspan) has indeed flashed much potential over the course of his young career. He earned himself ROY honors in Philadelphia in 2014 before a disappointing sophomore season, in which the point guard was traded to Milwaukee and criticized for inefficient shooting and a high turnover rate. This past season, while his stats continued to decline -- 11.5 points, 5.2 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game -- he did manage to cap his turnovers at 2.8 per game and shoot a very respectable 45.2% from the floor. Hence while MCW has proven that he is unable to successfully lead a team (exhibit A: Philly), he has settled nicely into his niche as a lengthy defender who can also dish it out on offense. Thus it is unlikely that he will ever develop into the player that many expected him to be after his very impressive ROY campaign in 2014, especially given the fact that Carter-Williams' jump-shot -- the facet of his game that has received the most criticism at every level of his career -- remains a major work in progress.
So it is not crazy for the Bucks to want to trade MCW. Given the presence of ball-dominant scorers on the roster such as SF/SG/PF Giannis "The Greek Freak" Antetokounmpo, PF/C Greg Monroe, and hopefully eventually SF/SG Jabari Parker, Milwaukee really needs to focus on spreading the floor more. And at present, they are severely lacking in three-point marksmen, and their spacing on offense has suffered as a result; needless to say, Carter-Williams and his career 25.5% three-point shooting are not helping that cause. In fact, after MCW got injured midway through last year, the emerging young star darling known as "The Greek Freak" nearly multiplied his stats by 1.5 across the board: Giannis averaged 19.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.9 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game while Carter-Williams was sidelined. It's hard to say if Antetokounmpo is really that much better simply due to more spacing on the court, but this drastic improvement in their star's performance with the PG off the court was probably the main motive for GM John Hammond to deal MCW away.
Yet while the logic behind the concept of the trade may make sense, the concrete value received in return is puzzling. What would have made more sense is if Hammond went out and got the three-point shooting point guard that he wanted (or at least, 'should have wanted'). Instead he got Tony Snell -- who can indeed shoot, as evidenced by him connecting on about one three per game at an impressive 36.1% clip last year -- but who plays small forward, not point guard. Milwaukee's wing rotation was already pretty solid even after the injury to Khris Middleton, so why would Hammond target a wingman in order to improve the team's spacing instead of a point guard to simply replace MCW in the lineup?
The answer is in fact clear. The rumors are true, for there's only one possible explanation: the Milwaukee Bucks plans to use Giannis Antetokounmpo at point guard a great deal.
Whether that is a good idea or not deserves special attention and is beyond the scope of this Trade Grade article. For now, let's just give the Bucks a decent grade and props for identifying and alleviating their problem of three-point shooting.
Grade: B+
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