Bucks trade for Holiday, Bogdanovic
Point guard Jrue Holiday is being traded from the Pelicans to the Bucks, who are aiming to give two-time reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo the improved roster that he seeks with the decision on his supermax contract extension looming, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.
The Pelicans are getting Eric Bledsoe, George Hill and a package of future first-round draft picks from the Bucks.
ESPN, The Athletic and The New York Times first reported details of the trade. ESPN also said the Bucks were executing a second trade with the Kings, with Bogdan Bogdanovic and Justin James going to the Bucks for Donte DiVincenzo, D.J. Wilson and Ersan Ilyasova.
The trade of Holiday was the second blockbuster involving a point guard since the league allowed transactions to begin Monday. Chris Paul was traded to the Suns by the Thunder on Monday; Paul and Holiday had been mentioned throughout the offseason as point guards who could be moved and were expected to be in high demand.
Hours after the Paul deal got done, Holiday was headed to the Bucks, whose message is clear: They want to win a title, and they want to give Antetokounmpo enough incentive to sign his supermax extension — one that will be worth more than $200 million for five years — before Dec. 21. When Antetokounmpo was announced as the back-toback MVP in September, he stated his intention openly.
“I’m happy for this, I’m happy for this award,” Antetokounmpo said at the time. “But I want more. ... I’ve got to keep getting better. I want to be a champion.”
Bucks GM Jon Horst, speaking to reporters Monday about the draft and the freeagent period that starts Friday, seemed to drop hints that the Bucks expected to put together a roster that would be better than the one they had last season — when the Bucks had the NBA’s best regularseason record for the second consecutive season, but fell short of making the Finals.