After leading the Eastern Conference and putting up the best regular season record in the NBA, the 2022/23 Milwaukee Bucks flamed out against the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs.
This offseason, the Bucks will be looking to make some big changes as they move on from the embarrassing 4-1 playoff series defeat.
The transformation began with head coach Mike Budenholzer being replaced by former Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin. But now that star forward Khris Middleton is hitting free agency, declining his $40 million dollar player option, the Bucks will certainly be looking to bolster their roster.
We break from Wisconsin sports betting updates to bring you the NBA teams who trade with the Milwaukee Bucks most.
Milwaukee Bucks Most Often Trade Partners
To consider who GM Jon Horst might be calling first, BetWisconsin.com decided to look at the most frequent trade partners in the 55-year history of the Milwaukee Bucks.
By turning to Basketball-Reference.com, we determined the number of trades made between the Bucks and every other NBA franchise.
Below we are also highlighting the most successful acquisition from the teams the Bucks trade with the most often.
Plenty of Trades for Bucks Around Six Teams
You can’t accuse the Bucks front office of picking favorites when it comes to player transactions. Three teams have made 11 trades with Milwaukee, and another three teams have made 10 trades with them.
Among the top acquisitions from these teams, the duo of Sidney Moncrief and Marques Johnson is arguably the most notable. Both joined the roster via draft picks acquired from other teams, and both were key cogs of a Bucks squad that dominated in the 1980s.
Johnson and Moncrief played together from 1979 to 1984, with the Milwaukee Bucks finishing atop the Central Divison each year they appeared on the court together. For his part, Moncrief won two Defensive Player of the Year awards in 1982 and 83 and is also currently 4th on the all-time points list among Bucks players. Meanwhile, Johnson is 8th among Bucks alumni in points and the all-time team leader in offensive rebounds.
Moncrief and Johnson are both five-time NBA all-stars.
Jack Skima — who the Bucks traded for in 1986 — is a 7-time all-star, but his glory days were spent with the Seattle Supersonics (now the Oklahoma City Thunder, after the team moved in 2008). Drafted 8th overall in 1977, Sikma led the Supersonics to their only NBA Championship in ’79. After nine seasons in Seattle, he was traded to Milwaukee. At that time, the 6-11 center commanded quite the haul, including two future 1st round picks.
The only active player counted among the Bucks’ best acquisitions is George Hill, who came to Milwaukee from the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018. Now in his late-30s, Hill has bounced around the NBA plenty, taking the court for 8 different teams during his 14-year career. He actually had two stints with the Bucks, from 2018 to 2020, and again between 2021 and 2023. Unfortunately for Hill, he was not a part of the 2021 NBA championship roster.
Speaking of championships, the 2023 NBA Finals-winning Denver Nuggets have made ten trades with the Milwaukee Bucks over the years. If only GM Jon Horst could nab playoff MVP Nikola Jokic to play aside Giannis Antetokounmpo. That would certainly make for the best Bucks duo since Sidney Moncrief and Marques Johnson.
Of course, you have a better shot of hitting a 20-leg parlay than that happening.
