The Milwaukee Bucks closed the first day of the NBA’s transaction period with a bang, making deals that should earn a commitment from Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Milwaukee Bucks entered one of the most important offseasons in the history of their franchise on Monday. It’s exceedingly rare to have a generational talent on your roster, especially when your team is based in a small market. But when you’ve got a player like Giannis Antetokounmpo, you must do everything it takes to keep him around and happy.
There were reasonable doubts that the Bucks had the intestinal fortitude to do just that. A season ago they opted not to re-sign Malcolm Brogdon, a member of the exclusive 50/40/90 club, and the question was not whether the Bucks thought he could help them, but whether the organization was too cheap to pay what it would take to keep him.
Media and fans alike had concerns that the Bucks would repeat this situation in the future. While they had no pending free agents to spend up on, after a disappointing second-round defeat at the hands of the Miami Heat, Antetokounmpo made it clear to ownership that he expected them to spend into the luxury tax. If not, he may decide not to re-sign with the Bucks next season, and the franchise will have lost its best chance at a championship (or championships).
Nothing is more important for the Bucks than ensuring Giannis re-signs (or signs an extension), and ownership and management had a clear mandate to spend as much money as it takes to improve the roster. Things got off to a bad start though. On Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers traded for OKC Thunder guard Dennis Schroder, a possible target. Then on Monday afternoon, the Phoenix Suns traded for Thunder guard Chris Paul, and the point guard market was suddenly depleted.
Would the Milwaukee Bucks miss out because they sat on their hands and simply did nothing while Giannis Antetokounmpo watches all these dominoes fall without his team getting into the mix even once?
The Milwaukee Bucks come through for Giannis
Well, the answer is no, because the Bucks dropped multiple bombs in the overnight hours of Monday going into Tuesday morning. They ended up pulling off a deal with the New Orleans Pelicans for guard Jrue Holiday, perhaps the most highly sought-after trade target on the market.
It appears the Bucks also circumvented tampering rules, because they agreed to a sign-and-trade with the Sacramento Kings for Bogdan Bogdanovic. Apparently, the new-look devil-may-care Bucks don’t care about the luxury tax or league fines for tampering.
Good for them, says this writer.
The Milwaukee Bucks upgraded their front-end talent in a massive way on Monday night with the additions of Holiday and Bogdanovic, but it didn’t come without a cost.
In exchange for Holiday, the Bucks sent New Orleans Eric Bledsoe, George Hill and a massive haul of three first-round picks. In the sign-and-trade for Bogdanovic, the Bucks sent the Kings Donte DiVincenzo, Ersan Ilyasova and D.J. Wilson. The Bucks also received Justin James in the deal with the Kings, and as a recipient of a sign-and-trade, they will be hard-capped for the rest of the season (although they’re not likely to threaten the hard-cap).
We’ll find out soon (probably after free agency officially opens on Friday) just how much Bogdanovic’s new contract is worth, but it’s safe to say that the Milwaukee Bucks will creep into the luxury tax.
In the Bucks’ push to show Giannis Antetokounmpo that they’re just as invested in winning as he is, they have demonstrated that they’re willing to mortgage the future by giving up those picks and to pay enough that it hurts now. As the clock continues to tick on his decision, these indicators should inform his direction.
At this point, the Milwaukee Bucks have earned a long-term commitment from Giannis. Now we’ll see if he chooses to make one.