Bucks make trade, signings official
Tuesday was a veritable signing day in Milwaukee as the Bucks announced the completion of their four-team trade netting Jrue Holiday and Sam Merrill as well as the signing of rookie draft pick Jordan Nwora and the re-signing of guard Pat Connaughton.
After a wild week that involved trades – completed and otherwise – the draft and free agency, the Bucks’ roster has taken shape with training camp set to start in a week on Dec. 1.
The addition of Holiday is easily the biggest move of the Bucks’ offseason. Holiday stands to be an upgrade at point guard, adding another all-star to Milwaukee’s starting five.
Connaughton, who spoke with reporters Tuesday afternoon via a video conference, made it a point to emphasize how big of an addition he believes Holiday will be. He learned about Holiday’s skills up close and personal when Holiday’s sixth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans swept Connaughton and the third-seeded Portland Trail Blazers out of the playoffs in 2018.
“In my opinion, (he was) the reason why New Orleans knocked us off when we played them in the playoffs when I was in Portland,” Connaughton said. “He was able to put his foot down on a nightly basis . ...
“I’m not sure there is a more underrated guy in the NBA. And I think you couple him with Khris and Giannis, that’s a big deal. And I’m not sure a lot of people have really explained how big of a deal that is.”
While the Bucks turned over a lot of their roster, Connaughton was one of the few bench players who will remain in Milwaukee. He’ll be around for the foreseeable future on a reported threeyear, $16 million deal with a player option in the final season.
Connaughton, who has averaged 6.1 points and 4.2 rebounds in 19.6 minutes per game while shooting 33.1% from three over two seasons in Milwaukee, reached his desired destination at the end of a whirlwind free agency period in the NBA. He knows he’ll need to improve to remain a rotational piece of the Bucks’ core that’s pursuing a championship. “I don’t think I’ve hid the fact that I like being Milwaukee Buck,” Connaughton said. “I wanted to stay. Obviously, there is a business side to it, so you have to listen and field calls and offers from other teams, but I’ve enjoyed my time here and I think there’s a lot of unfinished business here.”
Connaughton and Donte DiVincenzo have been among the players working out in Milwaukee in anticipation of the start of training camp. Recently, they’ve been joined by Nwora, the 45th overall draft pick out of Louisville.
Nwora also spoke with reporters Tuesday, outlining his draft process, which included working out in front of members of the Bucks staff in Buffalo. It wasn’t clear as of that pre-draft workout that he would make his way to Milwaukee, but Nwora knew then that the Bucks would be a good fit as a 6-foot-7 wing and a strong three-point shooter – “the best shooter in the draft” in his own estimation.
Then, on draft day, things fell into place for him to join the Bucks.
“There were a few teams in the late first round and that wanted me and things went different ways,” Nwora said. “And then I got a call, my agents got a call from Milwaukee and they said they wanted me and kind of held off some other teams so I could fall here. It was a place where I was comfortable and I knew I would be here and I knew I would get better and it would be a good situation for me.”
In the blur of draft night, Nwora clearly remembers a couple of meaningful texts. They came from Bucks allstars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.
“It meant a lot getting messages from those guys,” Nwora said. “Obviously being a kid in college I’m watching their games all the time. It was kind of surreal, it kind of caught me off guard a little bit, I wasn’t necessarily expecting it. It was crazy, it meant a lot to me and like I said earlier the family atmosphere and how they interact with each other.
“When they texted me it was short, it was just ‘welcome to the city, welcome to the team’ and they both said it’s time to win, the goal is to win a championship here. I just said it’s time to get to work.”