Milwaukee Bucks: 5 reasons the Eric Bledsoe trade was a win
4. The draft pick was protected in Milwaukee’s favor
Milwaukee did not give up a first round pick with the standard protections. Most draft picks traded include protection at the top of the round — that is, a team will keep its pick if it is better than a certain point.
Phoenix didn’t get a standard pick, however, There are restrictions placed at the back of the round as well, giving the pick a small window it would need to fall into to convey. For the 2018 NBA Draft, the pick only conveys if it falls between 11 and 16; for 2019, if it falls between 4 and 16; for 2020, between 8 and 30. If it hasn’t conveyed by then, it becomes unprotected in 2021.
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Phoenix may be thinking it doesn’t want a mediocre pick to be conveyed this season, and so if the Bucks finish in the top half of the league they won’t be handed a late first-round pick. The problem is that with Giannis Antetokounmpo not yet to his prime, and plenty of young talent around him, this team will be good for multiple seasons. In 2020, when this pick is most likely to convey, the Bucks could be one of the two or three best teams in the Eastern Conference, if not the entire league.
With Milwaukee off to a rocky start, and Jabari Parker not expected back from injury until February, this will probably be Milwaukee’s lowest finish in the standings for the next few seasons. This group will only get better. Instead of getting, say, the 20th pick this year, the Suns may have to wait two years just to get the 26th?
The flip side would be the odds that things fall apart for Milwaukee, as they did in Brooklyn, and then Phoenix has a much more valuable asset. The difference is, of course, both age and career progression. The Nets had one star (Deron Williams) in his prime and a number well past; the Bucks have a number of players not yet to their primes, and Khris Middleton who is likely right in it. This team is not going to absolutely fall of the rails, barring some sort of catastrophic injury to Antetokounmpo.
The upside is severely limited and the downside is huge for Phoenix. Milwaukee may have its pick tied up for a few seasons, but otherwise they came out ahead with the draft pick protections.