Bucks acquire Jrue Holiday - Trade done - Bucks 2022 to CLE unprotected

[mke_design]

im guessing we have a solid idea he is willing to sign here long term? thats a concern of mine. However, he did sign with NOLA thinking AD was staying so if Giannis signs the max as I have been informed is the case - he will probably extend.

[BucksFanSD]

https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/30333585/trade-grades-did-bucks-pelicans-win-jrue-holiday-deal

Milwaukee Bucks: B

When Milwaukee gave up restricted free agent Malcolm Brogdon in a sign-and-trade deal with the Indiana Pacers last summer, my concern was that the Bucks doing anything short of maximizing their championship potential before Giannis Antetokounmpo decided whether to stay was a mistake. Well, that criticism certainly can't be leveled anymore. Milwaukee is all in with this trade.

From a fit standpoint, Holiday is close to ideal for the Bucks. He gives them another creator on the perimeter, helping solve the issues the Miami Heat's defense created for Milwaukee in the playoffs. Unlike some options to fill that void, Holiday isn't a liability playing off the ball, as his 37% accuracy on catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts in the tracking data era (since 2013-14) is right at league average, per Second Spectrum. That's a huge upgrade from Bledsoe, who's hit 33% of such attempts in the regular season and a horrific 29% in the playoffs.

Oh, yes, Holiday also happens to be one of the league's very best perimeter defenders. Bledsoe is a very good one in his own right, but the bigger Holiday offers more flexibility for Mike Budenholzer to cross-match and use him against wings.

About the only drawback in terms of fit is that Holiday can be an unrestricted free agent at season's end. Clearly, the Bucks paid way too much for Holiday to simply be a one-year rental, so there must be some level of confidence in the organization that he'll be willing to sign an extension (something he can do now for up to a 5% raise on his current salary, which goes up to 20% after trade restrictions lift in mid-February), pick up his player option for 2020-21 or re-sign next summer.

For now, adding Holiday to a core of Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton makes Milwaukee my favorite to win the Eastern Conference because of the way Holiday addresses the team's past playoff shortcomings. It's worth remembering that while we haven't seen much of Holiday in the playoffs on also-ran teams in New Orleans, the results we have seen have been great. During the 2019 postseason, my analysis ranked Holiday ninth among active players in terms of playoff overachievement relative to the regular season.

There is still work for the Bucks to do, above and beyond offering Antetokounmpo the long awaited supermax extension. Based on reports that Matthews and Robin Lopez will decline player options for next season, Milwaukee will enter the offseason about $13 million below the luxury-tax line. Guaranteeing Ersan Ilyasova's $7 million salary would eat up about half of that and make it difficult for the Bucks to utilize the larger non-taxpayer midlevel exception because doing so would hard cap them at $6.3 million more than the tax.

Pending its decision on Ilyasova, who could be used as matching salary in a trade if guaranteed, Milwaukee will have just seven players under contract. So the Bucks will need to get busy filling out their roster and trying to either re-sign or replace Matthews and fellow wing Pat Connaughton while also addressing a thin frontcourt behind starters Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez.

We'll have a better sense of just how high the price for Holiday was when we find out whether Giannis plans to sign a supermax extension. If so, Milwaukee can be confident most of the picks headed to New Orleans will fall near the bottom of the first round. In that case, three picks and two swaps might not be an exorbitant price for Holiday, particularly if his addition helps convince Antetokounmpo to stay.

There's certainly a risk here for the Bucks. Nine months from now, they could be out both Giannis and Holiday as well as the draft picks. In that worst-case scenario, Milwaukee could look back on this trade as complicating their ability to rebuild without their own draft picks.

Assuming the Bucks have a good sense of their chances to re-sign both players, I like the gamble. Flags fly forever, and this trade gives Milwaukee a much better chance of hanging a banner in the rafters precisely five decades after the team's first and only championship.

[trwi7]

It's ironic, sort of, maybe that we traded Aqua Dagger to a city that's below sea level.

[Ruzious]

Now that Houston looks to be rebuilding (trading Covington for 2 FRP's and Ariza's corpse), the question begs to be asked - could we have traded all those picks plus Middleton for Harden?

But I won't ask it.

[Baddy Chuck]

Now that Houston looks to be rebuilding (trading Covington for 2 FRP's and Ariza's corpse), the question begs to be asked - could we have traded all those picks plus Middleton for Harden?

But I won't ask it.

I think you could ask it and it would still be a no.

[BucksFanSD]

I had mentioned that I thought the perfect Bledsoe team was a fringe playoff team that doesn't have much to lose in the playoffs. That appears to be New Orleans, which isn't far from his home state.

[paulpressey25]

It's ironic, sort of, maybe that we traded Aqua Dagger to a city that's below sea level.

You're on fire tonight

[paulpressey25]

Now that Houston looks to be rebuilding (trading Covington for 2 FRP's and Ariza's corpse), the question begs to be asked - could we have traded all those picks plus Middleton for Harden?

But I won't ask it.

Tillman Fertitta would have jumped all over it, proclaiming he got more for Harden than the Pels got for AD or the Thunder got for Westbrook.

[flaco]

I'm a big fan of Jrue's game. He may be the best on-ball guard defender in the NBA. That being said, I don't like the trade.

• 3 firsts + 2 pick swaps is a massive overpay.

• Don't love the fit of Jrue next to Giannis. He's just a passable shooter (35.3% from 3 this season, 35.4% for his career). Imo, we should have targeted a deadly 3pt shooter. For instance, McCollum.

• I wouldn't have included Hill. He's a deadly shooter from the PG position who's happy to play off the ball on offense. Literally the perfect fit next to Giannis.

Hate to say it, but the Pels fleeced us.

Don't get me wrong, our starting lineup is amazing.

PG: Jrue
SG: Bogdan
SG: Middleton
PF: Giannis
C: BroLo

Definitely an upgrade over our 2019/20 lineup. I just wouldn't have pulled the trigger on the Jrue trade.

[H2tObes]

If 3 1sts is what it takes for Giannis to resign then so be it.

[Chuck Diesel]

Props to Giannis and his agents as team builders too. They were a part of constructing this.

[Buck Dweller]

3 firsts + 2 swaps + Bledsoe and Hill for a guy who is marginally better than Bledsoe, while sharing all of Bledsoe’s issues that make him a bad fit next to Giannis. Completely unconscionable. When you add in losing Hill, it’s not even clear this trade even makes us better

[H2tObes]

Am I the only one to be a bit sad at losing Hill? He has been one of our best players and was so good in that sixth man role. He wasn’t himself in the bubble but was really good the RS before Covid. Not sure how we plug that gap.

Think dropping Hill now isn't a terrible idea, he was looking over the Hill in the bubble

[Buck Dweller]

3 firsts + 2 swaps + Bledsoe and Hill for a guy who is marginally better than Bledsoe, while sharing all of Bledsoe’s issues that make him a bad fit next to Giannis. Completely unconscionable. When you add in losing Hill, it’s not clear this trade even makes us better

[Buck Dweller]

3 firsts + 2 swaps + Bledsoe and Hill for a guy who is marginally better than Bledsoe, while sharing all of Bledsoe’s issues that make him a bad fit next to Giannis. Completely unconscionable. When you add in losing Hill, it’s not clear this trade even makes us better

[Ruzious]

If 3 1sts is what it takes for Giannis to resign then so be it.

Not just 3 1sts; also 2 trade options on 1sts and a very good backup guard in George Hill. And still no confirmation that Giannis is going to sign.

[Chuck Diesel]

I feel anyone who is negative about tonight. I truly do.

[King Ken]

THis was looking like one of the worst deals of all time but if they get Giannis to sign the supermax. It's a great deal for MIL.

[TroyD92]

3 firsts + 2 swaps + Bledsoe and Hill for a guy who is marginally better than Bledsoe, while sharing all of Bledsoe’s issues that make him a bad fit next to Giannis. Completely unconscionable. When you add in losing Hill, it’s not even clear this trade even makes us better

I've made a similar comparison in the past, but it's really hard to justify it anymore. Bledsoe in the playoffs is a real thing at this point and you can't go into any season with that guy as your point guard. I don't think they share many issues anymore either tbh.

those picks are also going to be late firsts except maybe the last one? and that's going to be worse case scenario (Giannis gone after his next deal). Hill sucked during the restart. Clearly checked out, who knows what he's going to be this year, but he's not a needle mover imo.

[H2tObes]

If 3 1sts is what it takes for Giannis to resign then so be it.

Not just 3 1sts; also 2 trade options on 1sts and a very good backup guard in George Hill. And still no confirmation that Giannis is going to sign.

Guess we'll have to wait and see then, could care less about the picks if Giannis resigns. Otherwise if you do this without Giannis signing it's one of the worst deals ever