The Bucks wanted to trade for wing help after losing Khris Middleton for most of the season.
So, they’re dealing point guard Tyler Ennis for… Michael Beasley?
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:
Houston has traded Michael Beasley to the Bucks for guard Tyler Ennis, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 22, 2016
Beasley found a niche as a high-volume, surprisingly efficient scorer off the bench for the Rockets last season.
I’m not sure how that translates to Milwaukee.
Beasley did most of his damage in Houston at power forward. Shifting up to small forward will take away his speed/ball-handling advantages. He won’t replicate Middleton’s floor spacing or defense – especially his defense.
Still, Ennis was superfluous with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Matthew Dellavedova and Michael Carter-Williams at point guard. The Bucks are probably better off taking a chance on Beasley on the wing rather than leaving Ennis to rot on the bench.
Ennis won’t step into a clear role with the Rockets, but he’s just their third point guard with a guaranteed salary, joining Patrick Beverley and Pablo Prigioni. Gary Payton II, Isaiah Taylor and Bobby Brown loom on what will likely be less than fully guaranteed deals.
The No. 18 pick in the 2014 draft, Ennis has yet to find his footing in the NBA. He’s in the final guaranteed season of his rookie-scale contract, and the Rockets have a team option on his $2,666,707 salary for 2017-18 they must decide on by Oct. 31. If Ennis makes the regular-season roster, they could exercise the option just because it’s so cheap in case he breaks out. See Solomon Hill. But first, Ennis must prove he’s more valuable than Payton, Taylor and Brown.
This might also suggest Houston is close to a deal with restricted free agent Donatas Motiejunas, who could step into Beasley’s backup power forward role.