The Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls have agreed on a trade that will send Michael-Carter Williams to the Bulls for shooting guard Tony Snell, per multiple reports.

The deal was reported Saturday night, and confirmed the Bucks aspirations to get rid of the former Rookie of the Year. A previous attempt to trade Carter-Williams to the Sacramento Kings for Ben McLemore fell through as the Kings denied the deal. While Carter-Williams had potential to be a prominent player in the NBA, his inability to shoot the three pointer limited his potential with the Bucks.

In return, the Bucks received an unproven fourth year swingman, Tony Snell. The Bucks believe Snell can help replace Khris Middleton, who is out for most of the year with a torn hamstring. While Snell is by no means up to par with Middleton’s scoring abilities, there is no doubt that he can shoot.  He shot just over 36% from the three point line last year, which would have made him the third-best shooter on the Bucks last year. However, Snell has never averaged more than six points per game, and only shot 37 percent from the field last year, so there is skepticism in the trade.

Initially, the trade doesn’t seem to benefit the Bucks, as Carter-Williams can facilitate the ball and is a solid defensive player.  Snell, on the other hand, will have to improve to play a role in the Bucks lineup.

On the bright side for Bucks fans, Khris Middleton was in a similar situation that Snell is in now.  When Middleton was traded to the Bucks in 2013, he had only averaged six points per game, and had only played in 27 games for the Pistons in 2012.  The following year, he played in 82 games and averaged 12.1 points per game.  Snell is a young player, who has a similar physique to that of Middleton, and the potential to play a similar style of basketball.

The progressive improvement of Middleton’s game over the past few years helps this deal for Snell make sense, as the Bucks could be trying to recreate what they accomplished with forming Middleton into the star he is today.


Photo courtesy of Getty Images

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