Bucks addHoliday, Bogdanovic to help, entice Giannis
Needing to add difference-makers to support two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo on his quest for a first title, the Milwaukee Bucks agreed late Monday night to acquire Jrue Holiday from the New Orleans Pelicans and Bogdan Bogdanovic from the Sacramento Kings, according to multiple people with knowledge of the deals.
Holiday, 30, averaged 19.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game last season, and his arrival marks one of the biggest and boldestmoves of BucksGMJon Horst's tenure. Milwaukee will send Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, three firstround picks and two pick swaps to NewOrleans in the deal, which will help keep Antetokounmpo and company near the top of the
Eastern Conference's projected standings.
In a sign-and-trade agreement for Bogdanovic, the Bucks will send Ersan Ilyasova, Donte DiVincenzo andD. J. Wilson to the Kings. Bogdanovic, 28, averaged a career-high 15.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists while emerging as a starter downthe stretch of his third season in Sacramento.
After a disappointing second-round exit in the bubble playoffs, Bucks ownership met with Antetokounmpo to assure their franchise player that they were committed to winning.
The Holiday deal accomplishes multiple objectives for the Bucks. First, it signals to Antetokounmpo that he will be back in the title mix this season as he weighs his options before possibly becoming a free agent in July. If trading for
Holiday helps convince Antetokounmpo to sign a fiveyear supermax contract before the Dec. 21 deadline, it will be worth the steep price in draft assets.
From a basketball standpoint, adding Holiday gives the Bucks, who ranked first in defensive efficiency last season, an all-defensive onball stopper with playoff experience. What's more, the trade clears out Bledsoe, whose annual postseason struggles were a major factor in Milwaukee's last two playoff exits.
Bogdanovic's arrival adds another high-volume 3-point threat to Milwaukee's projected starting and closing lineups. With Holiday, Bogdanovic, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, Antetokounmpo will now be surroundedby fourproven shooters who are all more or less in their age primes.