Milwaukee Bucks: 3 trades that could change the course of the franchise
Milwaukee Bucks trade target No. 1: Jrue Holiday
The most important thing for the Milwaukee Bucks is not to empty all of their assets just to keep one player happy. Yes, that player is the back-to-back MVP and is DPOY, but the second you mortgage your entire franchise to make a player happy is the second thing can go wrong and you are left at the altar with no happily ever after.
Minor moves that make major splashes are the key. Jrue Holiday offers the ability to get the Milwaukee Bucks a premium player for a team-friendly price. Jrue Holiday’s game fits perfectly with what the Milwaukee Bucks wish to do.
Defend and space the floor using a multitude of 3-point shooters to give Giannis free reign to attack the rim. Holiday has been named to numerous all-defensive teams throughout the majority of his career, he is a league-average 3-point shooter who is capable of hitting big shots and is a great playmaker.
Holiday has the ability to score 20 points per game which would be incredibly impactful for the Milwaukee Bucks. He could be the perfect third scorer that they need behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.
Holiday also doesn’t demand a huge amount of touches, he gets his points within the flow of the offense. Holiday has also shown an ability to shine alongside a mobile big man like Giannis.
Alongside Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday did some of his best work in the NBA, having a similarly talented player with similar capabilities on both ends of the floor could be a match made in heaven for the Bucks.
With Brook Lopez, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Donte DiVincenzo, and Jrue Holiday the Bucks would have an incredibly balanced line-up that preaches team defense, 3-point shooting and gives Giannis the perfect floor spacing for him to attack the rim.
A match made in heaven for both the Bucks and Jrue Holiday.
The Pelicans get an equally defensive-minded guard in Eric Bledsoe, a tenacious center in Robin Lopez, a young stretch-4 prospect in DJ Wilson, and a first-round pick this year (via Indiana).
They could potentially get a better return elsewhere but this package gives the Pelicans the perfect mix of youth and experience back for a player who can walk away next season due to them having a player option.
Bledsoe is a smaller point guard at 6-foot-1, gives the Pelicans a different shape going into the next season. With Lonzo Ball and Jrue Holiday on the same squad, you have clones of each other in the starting lineup.
With Bledsoe, you inject more pace into the team and get a player who has played on winning teams before and knows how to win games.
In Robin Lopez, you get a tough, gritty, and at times, downright dirty center. Lopez will set bone-crushing screens, with box-out and will not be afraid to swing his arms to clear the lane, he will fight for every single ball that comes his way and will give you nothing but effort every single night on the floor.
With Zion Williamson, a star on the rise, a player like Lopez is perfect to slot next to Zion, someone who will show Zion the ropes when it comes to using your frame to bully opponents,
He can show him how to play smarter and not just over-rely on his brute strength and otherworldly athleticism to beat players on a night to night basis. DJ Wilson offers the Pelicans the ability to stretch the floor anytime Zion is getting minutes at the center position. A small-ball line-up that will allow the Pelicans to run the ball and punish teams with their tempo.