NEW YORK — They’ve got the best record in the NBA and are on a trajectory to win 62 games. They boast a 24-year-old superstar making a nightly argument to be named the league’s MVP, coupled with an under-the-radar star coach who might have been the best offseason acquisition this side of the Lakers getting LeBron James. That’s just some of the proof that the Bucks are a budding power on the rise.
And when a report surfaced Monday that Anthony Davis would be willing sign a long-term deal with the Bucks — the Bucks! — if they could swing a deal for him, that amounted to the stamp of approval that every team is looking for, especially a small-market team with only one title in its history and no trips out of the first round of the playoffs since 2001.
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"I saw that report, and I think it’s great," Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry told Sporting News near the Barclays Center court after his team shredded a depleted Nets club in Brooklyn. "It’s a little bit of what we want. We want players to come and play in Milwaukee. And part of it is, when you’re winning and you’re setting a standard for excellence, people see that. People want to win.
"It doesn’t make a difference if you’re in Milwaukee, New York or LA. The whole goal is winning. So we hope it would be players like Anthony Davis and others who want to come to Milwaukee."
There’s one big catch to putting Davis on the floor of the new Fiserv Forum next to Giannis Antetokounmpo: Assets. The Bucks don’t have the major trade chips that the rival Celtics or even the Lakers can send the Pelicans for Davis.
Sources say that Boston has been pressing the Pelicans to hold off until the summer, when it would ship New Orleans a package potentially featuring Jayson Tatum and better draft picks than the Lakers can offer. Since acquiring Kyrie Irving prior to the 2017-18 season, the Celtics have been scheming to put together a Davis-Irving pairing and aren’t at all dissuaded by talk of Davis refusing to sign long-term. Because this is shaping up as a showdown between the NBA’s most historic rivals, the Bucks know Davis might not be in their future.
"Yes, well, that’s what makes it harder for us to do a (deal)," said Lasry, who purchased the team with Wes Edens in 2014. "We’ll see if we can figure it out."
In the meantime, they’re trying to figure out how they can add one more perimeter shooter. They’ve been working on a smaller deal or two, primarily to see if they can bolster a team that has yet to suffer through a losing streak this season. After missing out on a bid to get Kyle Korver before the Cavs shipped him to Utah, the Bucks believed to be looking at Davis’ teammate Nikola Mirotic, according to league sources.
"He’d be the perfect fit for the Bucks," one rival Eastern Conference general manager said. "Another guy who can knock down threes would make them even more dangerous."
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The Bucks are 13-0 after losses, one of the reasons Mike Budenholzer, in his first season in Milwaukee, is one of the top candidates for Coach of the Year honors. He won it in Atlanta in 2015 when the Hawks won 60 games and finished first in the East. Budenholzer is being credited for simplifying things while turning the Bucks into the only team ranked in the top five in offensive and defensive ratings. Their chief competition for Mirotic could be the Sixers, a potential opponent in the second round of the playoffs.
League sources say the Sixers have already been calling the Pels, recently offering two second-round picks for Mirotic in a bid to upgrade their anemic bench. Philly is also looking at the Magic's Terrence Ross and the Knicks’ Wes Matthews, with the Rockets thinking Matthews would be perfect for them.
The Bucks don’t have a lot of holes, but adding Mirotic, shooting 36.8 percent on 3-pointers while averaging 16.7 points in only 28.9 minutes per game, would fill one. They wouldn’t be scared off by taking on a player entering free agency this summer. Their other four starters, outside of Antetokounmpo, could all walk after this season. That hasn’t impacted their team-oriented play in their least.
"The thing I preach is, you check your ego at the door," said veteran George Hill, coming off a Finals appearance with the Cavs last June and a playoff veteran from back in his days when the Pacers challenged the James-led Heat in the East. "It’s not about one individual guy. It’s winning games.
"I tell the guys, 'no matter who scores, the only thing we need to focus in on is winning the game. When you become winners, everyone gets paid.'"
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— Jason Kidd, now living back in Phoenix, has been promoting himself to succeed Luke Walton as Lakers coach. Kidd wants back in while he still pockets $5 million this season from the Bucks, along with another $5 million he’ll get from Milwaukee next season.
If Walton takes the fall, look for ABC analyst and former Warriors coach Mark Jackson to surface as a candidate with his ties to LeBron via Klutch Sports. Jackson was up for the Cavs job in 2016 when the team opted to elevate Tyronn Lue after firing David Blatt with an East-leading 30-11 record.
During the Lakers-Warriors nationally-televised game last Saturday, Jackson made an impassioned plea for the Pelicans to trade Davis, another Klutch client, to the Lakers.
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— The Spurs are working hard to part ways with Pau Gasol, according to one Eastern Conference GM.
— Memphis’ bid to move Pau’s brother, Marc, might be hurt by two factors: His recent decline and demands to get an extension this summer. Mike Conley has more value despite having two years left on his deal at $67 million and some injury history.
The Suns are seen as a great fit for Conley by some league execs — if Phoenix is really committed to changing its culture. But people who know Suns owner Robert Sarver say he’d have to be convinced that Conley could be the difference-maker that could give his rebuilding program a much-needed boost.
Listen to Mitch Lawrence on SiriusXM NBA Radio on The Starting Lineup, No Look Pass, NBA Today and NBA Weekend. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Lawrence.
