$16 Million ‘Excellent On-Ball Guard’ Floated as Bucks Trade Target

Getty Delon Wright

The Milwaukee Bucks‘ defense continues to be a pressing concern. Entering February 1, the Bucks surrender 116.4 points per 100 possessions, good for no. 19 in team defensive rating, per NBA.com. They don’t have many options to fix this, but The Athletic’s David Aldridge explained why they should go after Washington Wizards‘ guard Delon Wright.

“He’s still an excellent on-ball guard whose size, smarts, and length make him among the best in the league at causing deflections and creating general havoc for opposing half-court offenses,” Aldridge wrote in a January 31 story.

Aldridge added why they would benefit from adding Wright and how he would fit into the rotation.

“A team like the Bucks, which has fallen off considerably on defense this season, could use an upgrade like Wright to back up Damian Lillard on the ball or play alongside Lillard to get the All-Star off the opposition’s top guard threats.”

Aldridge also outlined how a trade could work between the Bucks and Wizards.

“The Wizards could, though, take in a salary for Wright like Milwaukee’s veteran wing Pat Connaughton by absorbing him into one of their traded player exceptions for draft picks that could be protected to the point where they’d likely never convey to the Bucks. Washington has a $9.8 million TPE, for example, that it received from Detroit in the Monté Morris trade last summer. Connaughton’s $9.4 million salary for this season would fit into that slot.”

Delon Wright Has Drawn ‘Exploratory Trade Interest’: Report

The Wizards enter February 1 with a record of 9-38. The postseason is pretty much out of reach for them at this point. Because of that, multiple Wizards players, including Delon Wright, have drawn interest from suitors, as reported by HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. He also added what Wright could fetch on the open market.

“On the trade front, Kyle Kuzma, Tyus Jones, Daniel Gafford, Delon Wright, and Landry Shamet are among the Wizards who’ve drawn exploratory trade interest,” Scotto wrote in a January 31 story. “Wright is expected to draw second-round pick(s) compensation trade offers ahead of the Feb. 8 trade deadline, league sources told HoopsHype.”

The Bucks are fresh out of first-round picks, but they have their 2024 and 2027 second-round picks. Wright would be in expensive because he’s in the last year of a two-year, $16 million contract.

Pat Connaughton ‘Most Likely’ to Be Traded: Analyst

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst wrote a January 30 story predicting which player from every NBA team they would trade away. For the Bucks, he predicted that the Bucks would trade Connaughton. At the same time, he relayed his belief that the Bucks will stay the way they are.

“Bucks general manager Jon Horst has made deadline deals in four of the past five years. But the Bucks have no tradable first-rounders, no trade exceptions, no roster spots, and a $58 million tax bill.

“They’re probably going to have to stand pat, but if they get aggressive it will probably need to involve Connaughton and his $9 million salary — perhaps combined with one of the lower-paid players on the roster.”

Trading Pat Connaughton for Delon Wright works. However, one role player can only change so much about a team’s performance defensively.