Milwaukee deals Miles Plumlee to Charlotte in exchange for Roy Hibbert, Spencer Hawes

Milwaukee didn’t exactly make a famous mistake in signing Miles Plumlee to a four-year, $50 million deal during the 2016 offseason, but it did create a bit of a problem that they appear to have rid themselves of in no time at all. Plumlee, who barely played for the Bucks in 2016-17, is off to Charlotte in exchange for fellow center Roy Hibbert and Spencer Hawes, Adrian Wojnarowski reports at The Vertical.

Plumlee, who averaged just 2.6 points on 44 percent shooting in MKE a year after hitting over 60 percent of his shots in a contract season, was dealt after just 32 games with the Bucks in the weeks since signing the four-year deal as a restricted free agent last July.

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In exchange the Bucks will take on Roy Hibbert, a former All-Star who has found compelling NBA roles harder to find as the league moves away from orthodox centers, and veteran Spencer Hawes, now on his sixth team since being drafted in 2007. Hawes averaged 7.3 points and 4.2 rebounds in 18 minutes a night with Charlotte, while Hibbert added 5.2 points and 3.6 rebounds with a block in 16 minutes.

Both struggled to make their mark off the pine with Charlotte, because while starting big Cody Zeller has fit in expertly as a screener and quick finisher with the Hornets’ at-times formidable starting lineup, Hibbert’s plodding play and Hawes’ inability to rank as a floor-spacer did both their Charlotte futures, and Charlotte’s initial 49-game 2016-17 turn (for which they won 23 times) in.

A fresh start seems suitable for all, as Plumlee also struggled to establish himself amongst Milwaukee’s crowded frontcourt. Heck, the whole thing seems rather crowded – try sharing a ride up the St. Louis Arch with these guys:

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Even with Larry Sanders still out of the league, and signees John Henson and Greg Monroe failing to offer consistent and pointed additions as starters or relief bigs, Plumlee still fell soundly out of coach Jason Kidd’s rotation.

The 28-year old (!) failed to notch back-to-back double-digit minutes games between Nov. 19 and Jan. 20, and it took a rather obvious in retrospect trade showcase in the last week of January (for which Plumlee contributed nearly six points and three rebounds on average in almost 17 minutes of play) for Miles to see a bit if cold-weather daylight. He’s missed 16 games this year, including Milwaukee’s last two, due to Kidd’s Decision.

Dumping Plumlee knocks significant payroll commitments off of Milwaukee’s cap, as Miles was set to make $37.5 million between now and the completion of his contract in 2020. Hibbert will make $5 million this season, but he’ll be a free agent in the summer, while Hawes (at age 29 this April) could see fit to decline his $6 million player option this offseason to take advantage of an increased salary cap this summer, in a league that sees fit to hand eight figure yearly contracts to big men like, well, Miles Plumlee.

Which didn’t feel so bad at the time, in ways we should be reminded of as we assess Plumlee’s potential role in Charlotte.

He’d better have something that stands as a role, as Miles’ salary will tick the Hornets (one of the league’s smaller market teams) over $100 million in payroll commitments for 2017-18, with starter Cody Zeller due to make over $12.8 million in the first year of his new contract extension.

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Zeller has been fantastic in 2016-17 as an athletic screen and cut guy for the Hornets, who currently rank eighth in the East, half a game up on the Detroit Pistons for the final playoff spot in the conference, a full game up on the 10th-ranked Bucks. Introducing the plodding Hibbert or inconsistent Hawes to the game in Zeller’s absence, however, hasn’t always worked a charm; with Hibbert still out of touch with a faster NBA game, and Hawes sometimes appearing to have ideas above his station, often out of touch when his teammates when it comes time to spot up, or roll toward the front of the rim.

In Plumlee, the Hornets hope to sustain Zeller’s efforts off of the pine. The screening and resultant athleticism and work around the rim that Plumlee showcased in spots with the Bucks during the previous season and a half would go quite nicely here. Zeller’s per-minute stats this year are remarkably similar to what Plumlee gave the Bucks in 2015-16.

Meanwhile, Roy Hibbert has struggled in four recent games as a starter in Charlotte after Zeller suffered a quadriceps contusion, adding just 17 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks in 60 total minutes. He sat out Wednesday’s loss to Golden State, as the Hornets went with a small lineup in a loss to the Zaza Pachulia-less Warriors.

Hawes started in his absence, registering four points and four rebounds in 24 minutes, being outplayed on the whole by JaVale McGee. These sorts of things tend to signal the end of a player’s particular time with the team.

If Charlotte has its doppelganger in reserve at center, Milwaukee has myriad options to replace someone that wasn’t really around much to begin with.

In Roy Hibbert the franchise will add a two-time All-Star that has fallen on hard times since being asked to step out of the defensive comfort zone that served him so well in Indiana. Hawes will have to recapture the sound three-point shooting (37 percent last year, less than a quarter of his attempts have gone in this year) that marked his solid play in Charlotte last year: Milwaukee is desperate for three-point shooting. Just a threat from outside will do.

This is why the deal ranks as understandable for both sides, even if Milwaukee keeps dealing in attempts to find consistent roles for John Henson and Greg Monroe – whether those roles take shape in Wisconsin, or elsewhere. Charlotte’s work in the trade market, which has a trade deadline that comes to call on Feb. 23, might be over. Milwaukee’s grand entrance may have just begun – this team has holes, and it clearly boasts a willingness to deal.

Still, rarely do you see such a significant trade between two teams going for something as significantly sad as the eighth and final playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. That distinction alone should perk our ears up.

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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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