Milwaukee Bucks reportedly trade Greg Monroe, first round pick for Eric Bledsoe
By Adam McGee
According to reports from ESPN, the Milwaukee Bucks have traded Greg Monroe and a first round pick to the Phoenix Suns for Eric Bledsoe.
After over two weeks since the Milwaukee Bucks were first reported to have interest in Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe, it seems as if they have finally managed to come to terms on a trade.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe set the NBA world alight as the news was reported on Twitter early on Tuesday morning.
Suns finalizing deal to send Eric Bledsoe to Bucks, league sources tell @ZachLowe_NBA and me.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 7, 2017
It took what felt like an incredibly agonizing 17 minutes for Wojnarowski to follow up with the details of the trade, before he tweeted the following:
Phoenix finalizing deal to send Eric Bledsoe to Milwaukee for Greg Monroe and a first-round draft pick, sources tell @ZachLowe_NBA and me.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 7, 2017
Monroe signed for the Bucks as a free agent in the summer of 2015, and was arguably the biggest free agent coup in the franchise’s history at that time. Having struggled in his first season with the team, Monroe found his niche off the bench in a bounce-back second season.
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Currently rehabbing from a calf strain that had seen him miss Milwaukee’s last four games, Monroe is owed $17.8 million this season, before hitting unrestricted free agency next summer.
Bledsoe, 27, is under contract through to the end of the 2018-19 season, and is owed $14.5 million this year and $15 million in his final year.
At the time of posting, no details have emerged as to in what year the Bucks will be sending a pick to Phoenix, and whether there is any sort of protection on that same pick.
While any deal to bring in Bledsoe while shedding Monroe’s contract was bound to leave the Bucks’ in a difficult place in terms of cap space next summer, not taking back any further salary is of significance to the Bucks too.
Related Story: Milwaukee Bucks: Examining Eric Bledsoe’s potential fit
The Suns may well have preferred to get off one of Jared Dudley or Tyson Chandler in a deal for Bledsoe, but the Bucks seem to have avoided adding further guaranteed money outside of Bledsoe for next season.
Bledsoe’s arrival will lead to big questions over the futures of other Bucks in the not so distant future, but for now that’s an issue for another day.
Good deal for Bucks if it goes through, though it would complicate cap/tax situation for next season. May need to use another pick to dump $
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) November 7, 2017
Assuming both teams are satisfied with the players’ respective medicals, a deal will likely be confirmed very soon.
Milwaukee and Phoenix finalizing talks on the trade, league sources tell ESPN. Normal examination of medical reports, etc.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 7, 2017
UPDATE: The first round pick sent by the Bucks is lottery protected, and they will also send a second round pick.
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