Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade Is So Bad It's Almost Unbelievable
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The Milwaukee Bucks finally pulled the trigger and traded one of the NBA's top five active players, and in doing so, completely ruined any shot the former NBA Champion had at returning to NBA relevancy.
The full trade details read as such:
Miami Heat receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis
Milwaukee Bucks receive: Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks, one pick swap and one second-round pick
On paper, the draft picks the Bucks received are nice. But it is certainly worth noting that four of the five picks do not come into play until 2030, and some are as far out as 2033.
On paper, the players are just okay. Tyler Herro is a fringe All-Star type point guard. Not a single one of the other three pieces is a player you want in your lineup if you are serious about making a playoff run.
The Bucks went 32-50 last season and just traded their two best forwards. Just five years removed from winning an NBA Championship, Milwaukee is now as far away as anybody.
Looking at the roster, it is impossible to argue that the Bucks are in a better position now than they were two days ago. Longtime NBA analyst Ryen Russillo was very blunt with his accurate assessment of what the Bucks have just done to their franchise.
"They're going to stink, and this trade is terrible," Russillo said. "I think this trade is so bad. Maybe Jakucionis turns into something, Kel'el Ware has some moments... I like Jaquez in that system...
"The problem I have with a trade like this is you needed one of these pieces to be a certain hopefulness, even if it ended up being disappointing... There's not one certainty. There's not one thing that you're bringing over where you're like, 'Hey, this is kind of a potential really nice thing to build around.'"
I mean, this is Giannis Antetokounmpo we are talking about. He turns any roster in the NBA (including Milwaukee's!!!!!) into an instant contender.
It is almost unbelievably bad. Maybe the Boston Celtics were right to keep building with their current roster, but I can't believe Milwaukee was willing to part ways with the two-time league MVP for this kind of haul.
It truly is just quantity over quality as far as this deal is concerned. The Heat told the Bucks that they can have everything, and somehow Milwaukee's front office valued it over keeping a homegrown superstar.
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