The Milwaukee Bucks were recently infected by the injury bug. One of their starters, wingman Khris Middleton, suffered a torn hamstring and immediately the Bucks had no answers. Their wing depth is weak and they had to make a move to help out. Just under a day after finding out Middleton would miss six months, the Bucks made a trade.
Michael Beasley is being shipped to Milwaukee and in exchange the Houston Rockets will be receiving young point guard Tyler Ennis.
Following from Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo! Sports.
Houston has traded Michael Beasley to the Bucks for guard Tyler Ennis, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) September 22, 2016
With Milwaukee losing Khris Middleton for six months with torn hamstring, Beasley becomes a stop-gap forward for the season.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) September 22, 2016
It’s believed Milwaukee and Houston were discussing a deal before Middleton was injured Tuesday during practice, according to Charles Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Michael Beasley averaged 12.8 points in 20 games with the Rockets last year, providing an offensive boost when needed. He can play shooting guard, small forward, or power forward for Milwaukee, something that likely appealed to them.
“He’s someone that we’ve kept our eye on the last few seasons and we’re looking forward to watching him compete”, Bucks general manager John Hammond said, commenting on the Beasley trade.
Tyler Ennis, on the other hand, averaged 4.5 points in 46 games with the Bucks last season. Ennis, a promising 22-year-old guard, is entering his third season in the league this fall.
“(It’s) a new beginning, new opportunity, a really good team”, Ennis said of the Rockets (via Mark Berman of Fox 26). “I’m happy to get going, get out there and start working”.
“Excitement”, Ennis continued. “To go to a team with a superstar player, a team that’s been in the Playoffs, you can’t ask for much more than an opportunity and that’s what I have here”.
In the end, Houston opted to obtain younger talent, while Milwaukee stayed true to its competitive identity, insuring talent remains at all positions despite one of its prime players being sidelined from injury.
