Did the Milwaukee Bucks just deliver major blows to the Warriors' hopes for this offseason and beyond?
Milwaukee is finalizing a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans that would bring two-time All-Defensive point guard Jrue Holiday to the Bucks, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Monday night, citing sources. The Bucks are sending guards George Hill and Eric Bledsoe, as well as three future first-round picks and two pick swaps to the Pelicans, according to Charania.
For the second straight offseason, New Orleans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin received a haul of picks for a star entering the final year of his contract. The Pelicans received Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and Brandon Ingram and three first-round draft picks from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis last summer.
New Orleans now reportedly has the assets to become a longtime thorn in Golden State's side, even if that's beyond the Warriors' window with their current core of Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. But in the shorter term, the Bucks' reported acquisition takes two of the Warriors' ideal targets for this offseason off the table, even though both were long shots.
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For one, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo almost certainly is staying put in Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo, long the apple of the Warriors' eye, said he wouldn't demand a trade after a second-round playoff exit at the hands of the Miami Heat. That was before the Bucks reportedly acquired one of the league's best point guards, and this trade would remove any doubt about Milwaukee's aspirations for this season.
If Antetokounmpo's joining the Warriors, it would have to be next season as a free agent. Given the ambition his front office reportedly just showed, though, you have to wonder if he's closer to signing a super-max contract extension by the Dec. 21 deadline.
The Bucks, at least, reportedly seem to believe it.
Holiday's presence potentially keeping Antetokounmpo a Buck would be bad enough for the Warriors, but Holiday no longer being available to acquire is bad news, too. The 30-year-old would've been a big boost to the Warriors' perimeter defense, and a capable enough offensive option to take some pressure off Steph Curry and Klay Thompson in their returns from significant injuries. Curry, Thompson and Green are all older than 30, though, so it's not exactly a surprise the reported cost to acquire Holiday on an expiring deal was too rich for the Warriors' blood.
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Both Antetokounmpo and Holiday could decide to leave Milwaukee in free agency next year, potentially leaving the Bucks with a very expensive tab for a hail-mary effort to retain the NBA's best player. That's worth the risk for a franchise that hasn't won a title since Lew Alcindor's, and now looks more capable of ending that half-century drought.
Acquiring one of Antetokounmpo and Holiday would've constituted a successful offseason for the Warriors, but both players are off the table now and, potentially, much longer.
"trade" - Google News
November 17, 2020 at 01:11PM
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Bucks' Holiday trade deals blows to Warriors' offseason hopes - Comcast SportsNet Bay Area
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