The Bucks took care of business with Khris Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon.
Milwaukee will let its other starting free agent – Malcolm Brogdon – get away, but only after leveraging his restricted rights into a return.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
Malcolm Brodgon has agreed to a four-year, $85M deal with Indiana, per sources.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
Indiana is trading a first-round and two future second round picks to the Milwaukee for Malcolm Brogdon, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
David Aldridge of The Athletic:
All four years of Malcolm Brogdon’s $86M deal guaranteed, per source.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) June 30, 2019
This could work well for Brogdon and Pacers.
Brogdon has sounded like he’d prefer to play point guard, the position he’ll seemingly play in Indiana. In Milwaukee, Brogdon primarily played shooting guard next to Eric Bledsoe. This is also a lot of money for the former second-round pick who spent his first few seasons earning near the minimum.
Indiana will get the 26-year-old Brogdon through his prime. He can shoot, handle the ball and defend. He should fit well with Victor Oladipo in the backcourt.
But that’s still a lot of money for Brogdon considering his long-term health concerns.
So, on a value basis, it could be reasonable for the Bucks to prefer the picks to Brogdon (depending on pick protection). But Milwaukee should be aiming to contend around Giannis Antetokounmpo right now. Future picks can’t help with that. Perhaps, those picks will eventually get flipped for an actual player who helps the Bucks compete this season.
It’s impossible to overlook the luxury-tax ramifications of this move. This is the cheap route. Milwaukee might have ulterior motives other than building the strongest roster.
That’s risky as Antetokounmpo approaches his super-max decision.
The Bucks now need a starting guard. Maybe they’ll re-sign George Hill. The mid-level exception is available. But it’s still unknown just how much ownership is willing to spend.
