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Bucks exploring trade market with Lakers: Central Division roundup
No Central Division games were played, but the Milwaukee Bucks are working the trade phones and the Chicago Bulls are reshaping their rotation ahead of the regular season.
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There were no Central Division games on the schedule yesterday, but behind the scenes the Milwaukee Bucks are active on the trade market while the Chicago Bulls continue to fine-tune their preseason rotation.
Bucks working the phones on potential trades
Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, as relayed by Hoops Rumors, reports that the Milwaukee Bucks are among the teams gauging the trade market this fall. Fischer adds that the Bucks and Lakers have held exploratory conversations about a potential deal, though nothing is close at this stage. The Grizzlies are also said to be probing the market, according to the same report.
Hoops Rumors notes that Milwaukee, Los Angeles, and Memphis are currently the only three NBA teams carrying more than 15 players on standard contracts, creating a roster crunch that is pushing them toward trade discussions. The Bucks sit at 1-3 in the Central and appear to be looking for ways to rebalance their roster before the season settles in.
Separately, Hoops Rumors’ ongoing series on rookie-scale extension candidates turns its attention to Jaime Jaquez Jr., breaking down his strengths, weaknesses, and what a fair long-term agreement with his team might look like.
Bulls’ second unit taking shape around Leonard Miller
In Chicago, preseason action is reshaping the depth chart. Hoops Rumors, citing Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, writes that forward Leonard Miller has been outstanding so far and appears to be ahead of Noa Essengue and Patrick Williams in new head coach Tiago Splitter’s rotation. The 33rd overall pick in the 2023 draft barely saw the floor last season, but he now seems to be carving out a meaningful role with the second unit.
Those developments come as the Bulls sit at 2-2, trying to establish a pecking order in a Central Division that remains wide open early on.
Quiet day elsewhere in the Central
The Cleveland Cavaliers (1-2), Detroit Pistons (2-1), and Indiana Pacers (1-2) generated little news over the past 24 hours. A league-wide survey of general managers, referenced by Hoops Rumors, highlighted the 76ers as having the best offseason, with Central Division teams among the many clubs evaluated in that poll.
With no games played and only modest movement outside Milwaukee and Chicago, the Central Division remains relatively calm for now, awaiting the regular season’s next wave of storylines.