As the 2015 NBA draft nears, many teams are looking for ways to move up by trading away key pieces. According to Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times, the Milwaukee Bucks have shown interest in trading John Henson or Michael Carter-Williams to move up to top 10 in the draft.
The Bucks acquired Carter-Williams from the Philadelphia 76ers before the trade deadline in a blockbuster deal that sent Brandon Knight to the Phoenix Suns.
Milwaukee attained a losing record of 11-18 when Carter-Williams joined the team. But despite the downfall, they still made it to the playoffs in Jason Kidd’s first year as head coach of the team.
John Henson, meanwhile, has been with the team since he was drafted in 2012 with the 14th overall pick. The 6-foot-11 big man out of North Carolina hasn’t quite met expectations, having an up-and-down career so far.
Henson, 24, had his best year during the 2013-2014 season when he averaged 11.1 points and 7.1 rebounds. Those numbers plummeted considerably this past season, as he only averaged 7.0 points and 4.7 rebounds.
However, he is still a high volume shot blocker and could possibly draw interest in the open market.
The Bucks are eager to get into the top 10 because they really like Trey Lyles, the 6-foot-10 power forward out of Kentucky. Lyles is lengthy with a nice touch near the rim and has good upper body strength.
Milwaukee already traded away its starting power forward, Ersan Ilyasova, in hopes of replacing him with younger talent.
It only remains to be seen if they can make further deals to sneak into the top 10 to draft the player they desire the most.