A Chance to Shed Bad Contracts
This may be a slightly asinine reason from a basketball perspective, but the NBA is inherently a business, and for a team like the rebuilding Atlanta Hawks in possession of one prized asset (Bazemore), other teams see a chance to offload bad deals. It’s a tradition long ingrained into NBA lore, as teams take advantage of rebuilding organizations by sending over a bad contract or two in exchange for a contributor (as well as sweetening the deal somewhat with picks or younger players).
For the Bucks, Bazemore may not be so expensive to acquire. He is already 29 and has seemingly peaked as an NBA player, with very little obvious upward potential left to tap. At this point in his career, he’s a known commodity, someone that can help playoff teams, and someone not of use to a rebuilding team. It’s well known the Hawks are in full tear-it-down mode, especially after watching the likes of Jeff Teague, Demarre Carroll, Dennis Schroder, Paul Millsap and Al Horford all depart in the last few years.
Bazemore is the last connection to the uber-successful 2014-15 Hawks squad, and the Hawks have a couple of young wings in Taurean Prince and DeAndre Bembry ready to take his place, so for the Bucks, this could be a chance to strike.
Matthew Dellavedova, while not a bad player, is probably overpaid at over $9 million a season for the next two years, while John Henson could be rendered obsolete with the arrival of Brook Lopez and the development of Thon Maker. The Bucks would need to match about $19 million worth of salary to make the deal work unless the Hawks were to throw in some sort of filler, and the duo afermentioned is the most likely candidates.
Tony Snell, while a useful contributor, is also an option to be moved due to his deal being worth in the $10-11 million a season range, including a player option. The arrival of Bazemore may also spell the end of any meaningful role Snell may have with the Bucks. Bazemore likely comes in as the starting shooting guard, next to Bledsoe, Middleton, and Antetokounmpo, while Malcolm Brogdon and Sterling Brown need minutes off the bench. For the price, Snell may be too much of a luxury to keep.
Of course, to make any deal like this, the Bucks would need to provide some incentive for Atlanta to take on these contracts, especially considering none of them are expiring. The framework of a deal between the two teams is quite tough to outline, especially due to the long-term nature of a lot of the Bucks more likely trade assets. A first-round pick would likely have to be included, and the Bucks may have to be forced to part with a young player, such as DJ Wilson.
