For starters, that means they can’t aggregate salaries in a trade. No package deals, no three-for-one swaps. Any deal they make has to be a straight-up, one-for-one swap. That’s a nightmare for a team that desperately needs roster upgrades.

The Milwaukee Bucks community expected to end this week wrestling with the the end of Khris Middleton’s time in cream and green. In the weeks preceding the trade deadline, Middleton was transitioned to a bench role where he showed some promise before the wheels fell off again last week in a pair of scoreless performances.