Bucks, Suns trade marks for Cole Anthony deal
On Thursday, it was revealed that The Milwaukee Bucks wouldn’t to trade Giannis Antetokounmpo before the NBA trade deadline. The news comes after months of speculation on that front, but the Bucks have remained active on the open market in bringing in other pieces.
One of those moves was a trade with Phoenix Suns.
“The Milwaukee Bucks have agreed to a trade.” Cole Anthony and Amir Coffey to the Phoenix Suns for Nick Richards and Nigel Hayes-Davies, sources tell ESPN,” NBA insider Shams Charania reported on X, formerly Twitter.
Let’s take a look at how both sides fared in the deal.
Milwaukee Bucks trade grade
With this move, the Bucks added another solid center to their rotation, the former Charlotte Hornets big man who now needs to back up Myles Turner.
Anthony hasn’t contributed much in Milwaukee this year, so the Bucks won’t be lacking much production in their backcourt after this move.
The big question for Milwaukee moving forward will be whether the team decides to lock up Antetokounmpo for the rest of the year in hopes of improving their NBA draft lottery odds. Antetokounmpo is currently out of the lineup due to a calf injury, which has become a major problem for him in recent years.
Overall, though, the Bucks did well to add a good rotation player at a low cost.
Grade: A
Phoenix Suns trade grade
The primary incentive for the Phoenix Suns in this deal appears to have been to get under the next tax apron, which they managed to do by cutting the salaries of Richards and Hayes-Davis.
They will also add a player in Anthony who has been quiet for the Bucks this year but had some moments as an explosive microwave scorer during his days with the Orlando Magic. This will be especially important for the Suns as injuries have been a problem for both Devin Booker and Jalen Green so far this year.
While this trade isn’t necessarily a needle mover, overall, the Suns were able to help themselves financially at a relatively low cost.
Grade: A-
2026-02-05 21:08:00
