In a stunning, late-night move in the NBA, the Milwaukee Bucks have pushed their chips to the center of the offseason table. The Bucks have traded for guard Jrue Holiday by sending Eric Bledsoe, George Hill and multiple 1st round draft picks to the New Orleans Pelicans.
First to report the initial deal was Shams Charania of The Athletic, sending out his tweet at 11:30 E.T. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN later confirmed details regarding the draft picks.
Bucks sending Eric Bledsoe and George Hill and draft compensation to New Orleans, sources said. https://t.co/3K12F8WGI9
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 17, 2020
Besides the three future first-round picks going to New Orleans, there are also pick swaps included in the deal, per sources. All in all, this is shaping up to be a draft compensation package similar to New Orleans' deal for Anthony Davis with Lakers. https://t.co/HbnLxzUI96
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 17, 2020
What This Means For Milwaukee:
This comes as a shock for all fans of the NBA, but a pleasant surprise for the Bucks. Adding Holiday not only increases the Bucks chances of competing for an NBA Finals, but it also strengthens the case that “win now” moves are being made to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Cream City for the future.
Losing George Hill hurts while looking at the rotation, but this move also opens up a big opportunity for a young player like Donte DiVincenzo. With Bledsoe and Hill gone, this allows Holiday to slide into the point guard spot, with DiVincenzo able to gain more of Hill’s minutes with the second unit.
With Milwaukee sending multiple 1st rounders and pick swaps for Holiday, that evaporates any draft capital that may have been built up from before. However, moves like these often require large hauls, especially in the case of Holiday, one of the most underrated players in the NBA.
Moving Forward:
Quite possibly the biggest Milwaukee Bucks offseason headline before this move was Giannis saying he would stick around if management made the right moves. It seems safe to say that this was a step in the right direction.
The last two weeks have been filled with chatter that Giannis Antetokounmpo indeed plans to sign his five-year supermax with the Bucks before the Dec. 21 deadline to do so …
The Bucks just made a trade that suggests they must believe it
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) November 17, 2020
Follow me on Twitter at @donchiarel and follow us @WiscoHeroics1 for more great content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in Wisconsin sports, click here!
