The Milwaukee Bucks were supposed to be the Boston Celtics' best competition in the Eastern Conference heading into the 2024-25 season, but so far, they haven't looked the part. They are 4-8 and needed one of Giannis Antetokounmpo's best performances just to get past the Detroit Pistons in overtime the other night.
Khris Middleton's return will surely help, but no one thought he'd come back and have to bring the Bucks out of a hole. It's at the point where there will still be some serious questions, even when he returns. This could lead to the Bucks potentially considering an Antetokounmpo trade, which could certainly have implications for the Celtics' chances.
However, the Bucks will likely try a major shake-up before even considering trading Giannis. They may not completely overhaul the roster, but at this point, since they're also coming off two consecutive first-round exits, they may trade one of their mainstays to salvage their season.
Behind the Bucks Pass' Dalton Sell proposed the following four-way trade exchanging one of their longest-tenured players for a well-renowned Celtics alum.
Bucks get: Marcus Smart
Grizzlies get: Jordan Clarkson and Jarred Vanderbilt
Lakers get: Brook Lopez
Jazz get: D'Angelo Russell and a 2025 second-round pick (via Lakers)
At this stage of his career, Lopez is in the same class as Al Horford: It's impressive that he still plays at the level he is. However, he's clearly not the player he was when the Bucks first brought him in in 2018. Because Milwaukee had a near-catastrophic start, his regression is hard not to notice.
Trading him may very well be the easiest way for the Bucks to change.
Enter Marcus Smart, who is not only much younger than Lopez but may very well be the game-changer the Bucks desperately need. And that could be a problem for the Celtics.
How Marcus Smart on the Bucks could affect matchup with Celtics
The primary reason why the Bucks have been bad is because they do not have much defensive firepower. Giannis is still Giannis on both ends, but Lopez and Middleton are deteriorating, Damian Lillard has never been a plus-defender (neither is Gary Trent), Taurean Prince is okay, and what is Bobby Portis at this point?
It's not like Smart will change the entire landscape, but on paper, he covers so much ground for them. It's not so much that Smart is an elite one-on-one defender, it's that his abilities allow him to cover just about anyone on the floor, and his IQ is high enough.
He might not get after it as much as he used to, but Smart still is an elite defender who the Bucks desperately need to get back on track. Much like Jrue Holiday was the picture-perfect Smart replacement for Boston, Smart would be the picture-perfect Holiday replacement for Milwaukee.
That would be a problem for Boston because the edge they've had on Milwaukee is how lousy the Bucks' defense has been since getting rid of Holiday, and they currently don't have the roster options to improve. Smart fills in those holes, which could alter how those two teams matchup.
There's just one problem.
There's no way the Grizzlies would agree to this. After trading the assets they did for Smart (two first-round picks and Tyus Jones), they would not accept Jordan Clarkson (an aging bench scorer) and Jarred Vanderbilt (injury-prone and horrible contract) to send Smart out of town.
Smart hasn't worked out great for them, but that's just bad injury luck more than anything else. It definite shouldn't be shot down that the Bucks will trade Lopez, but getting Smart in the process? It'd be hard to see how they would make that work.