Bucks acquire Michael Beasley
The Milwaukee Bucks acquired Houston forward Michael Beasley in a trade on Thursday, a stop-gap move to soften the loss of leading scorer Khris Middleton.
Milwaukee sent point guard Tyler Ennis to the Rockets in the deal.
Milwaukee was active on the trade market the past 24 hours, trying to find a scoring forward to replace Middleton, who will undergo surgery for a torn hamstring and could miss the entire season.
Beasley, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft, has failed to find traction in his career. He’s bounced between several NBA teams and two separate forays into China. Nevertheless, Beasley, 27, can be a prolific scorer. He averaged 12.8 points in 18.2 minutes a game for the Rockets after signing late in the season.
Ennis, 22, was the 18th overall pick in the 2014 draft by the Phoenix Suns. He was traded to the Bucks in his rookie season, where he’s played limited minutes as a pro. He gives the Rockets a young guard under contract for two more years who they can try to develop behind 39-year-old Pablo Prigioni.
Houston is still working to re-sign restricted free agent forward Donatas Motiejunas, who figures to be a prominent part of the team’s frontcourt rotation. Through a longer-term agreement or a one-year qualifying offer that Motiejunas could accept to make him an unrestricted free agent next summer, the Rockets expect to have Motiejunas back for the start of the season.
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