Milwaukee Bucks: Looking back on the Ray Allen trade 15 years later

On this date 15 years ago, the franchise trajectory of the Milwaukee Bucks was severely altered with the decision to trade Ray Allen to the Seattle Supersonics. We look at the reasons why his departure still resonates all these years later, especially with the superstar emergence of current Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

February 20, 2003 is a date that is etched in the hearts and minds of all Milwaukee Bucks fans.

Fifteen years ago to this day, the Bucks sent shock waves throughout the city of Milwaukee, the state of Wisconsin and the entire NBA by trading star shooting guard Ray Allen to the Seattle Supersonics, along with Ronald ‘Flip’ Murray, Kevin Ollie and a first round pick for that year’s draft (which later turned out to be Luke Ridnour) in exchange for veteran point guard Gary Payton and uber-athletic swingman Desmond Mason.

The decision to move Allen to Seattle absolutely blindsided the Bucks faithful and it’s hard to argue against the fact that the ripple effects of it can still be felt all these years later, even as the organization has changed hands over the years.

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In what has become well-known lore at this point, the reasoning behind pulling the trigger to send the then three-time All-Star to the Emerald City stemmed from the tension that steadily simmered between Allen and then-Bucks head coach George Karl, which certainly became a staple along the latter’s many stops around the league throughout his coaching career.

Both Allen and Karl didn’t shy away from pointing the finger at each other in the heat of the moment, with each providing very harsh and pointed statements directed at one another regarding why things had blown up to the point that Allen was stunningly sent to the now-defunct Sonics.

Even well after everything had boiled over to its conclusion on that fateful day, both Karl and Allen provided their perspective for why things had reached that breaking point, which ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan touched on in the piece she wrote about the 18-year veteran on the eve of him breaking the league’s three point record just over seven years ago:

"“Ray’s a perfectionist,” Karl said. “He’s also a very confident person, and, in a way, that can be somewhat detrimental when he’s trying to fit into a team. His attention to detail, at times, was antagonistic to his teammates. He had to work to find a comfort level with them. We were managing a lot of egos.”“There always [seemed] to be some angst between George and me,” Allen said of Karl. “No animosity, just angst. It was almost like I was the one guy in his way. I was close with [Bucks owner] Sen. [Herb] Kohl, and it was like I was the one guy over [Karl’s] head, maybe more powerful than he was.”"

As much as the decision lay on the shoulders of Karl and Allen’s strained relationship as well as Bucks general manager Ernie Grunfeld, who arranged the trade call, it still was signed off by the longest-tenured owner in the franchise’s history and Milwaukee native, Herb Kohl.

All these years later, Kohl has rightly earned plenty of good feeling, but the sense of regret remains. With not just his steadfast stance in keeping the team in Milwaukee on multiple occasions, but also his parting gift to the Bucks by contributing $100 million of his own fortune that helped financed the team’s new arena, Kohl did plenty to lead the Bucks to their current jucnture.

Still, sending Allen, the face of the franchise, to Seattle stands as his biggest regret in his 29-year ownership of the team as Gary D’Amato of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote in a profile of the now-83-year-old in the spring of 2016:

"‘Well, he and (coach) George Karl got into it and it just didn’t work so we traded him,’ Kohl said. ‘I didn’t make the trade, but I let it happen. It became very much of a personality thing and so we traded Ray. In terms of unfortunate moments, that was our most unfortunate moment, letting Ray Allen leave town.’"

Whether you followed the team through thick and thin at that point or were growing into becoming a Bucks fan at a young age, the news of Allen’s departure still stands stark in our collective minds, especially as memories of seeing him play live in a Bucks uniform fade further and further as time passes by (besides the number of archived videos that can be found on Youtube, of course).

While it may not have officially shut the door on the team’s “Big Three” era, it obviously signaled the coming dissolution of the franchise’s most recent high point as all three of Karl, Grunfeld and Sam Cassell would leave Milwaukee months later to latch on elsewhere, respectively.

After being so starved of star-level talents, the Bucks’ decision trade away Allen predictably managed to haunt them in the years following his exit, especially as no player for the team came all that close to assuming the mantle he left behind in the process (with all apologies to Michael Redd, Andrew Bogut, and the first two months of Brandon Jennings’ rookie season).

Of course, the latter certainly doesn’t apply anymore as the Bucks have someone more than worthy enough to occupy the team’s throne and even the league’s. To the bewildering delight of all Bucks fans who aren’t used to such riches, 23-year-old superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has ascended to superstar status in a very short space of time.

On the surface, drawing a comparison between both Allen and Antetokounmpo likely falls short depending on your point of view, other than the fact that they both wear the same number.

For one, Allen was a decorated three-year collegiate player from 1993-1996 at the University of Connecticut before he wound up in Milwaukee via a trade on the night of the 1996 NBA Draft. In Antetokounmpo’s case, he was discovered by then Bucks general manager John Hammond and Co. in Greek gyms in the several months leading up to the 2013 NBA Draft, competing against players that were the equivalent of the talent you might find in the local YMCA.

Secondly, the two’s playing styles hardly overlap with one another as Allen is the exemplary two-guard who certainly was capable of playing above the rim during his Milwaukee days but is mostly remembered for being one of the league’s purest shooters regardless of the era.

Antetokounmpo can’t be defined by any one position or singular skill and his one real limitation is the very area Allen remains best known for, though we have seen incremental improvements in Giannis’ range more recently.

But what the two may not share in the ways they excel (or excelled, in Allen’s case) on the court, the way they both approach and live, breathe and die with the game is incredibly similar. Both Allen and Antetokounmpo’s driven nature borders on obsession, which Allen, himself, proclaimed falls firmly within obsessive-compulsive tendencies. Again, from that same profile on Allen by MacMullan:

"“I’ve argued this with a lot of people in my life,” Allen said. “When people say God blessed me with a beautiful jump shot, it really pisses me off. I tell those people, ‘Don’t undermine the work I’ve put in every day.’ Not some days. Every day. Ask anyone who has been on a team with me who shoots the most. Go back to Seattle and Milwaukee, and ask them. The answer is me — not because it’s a competition but because that’s how I prepare.“[My preparation] drives me insane. I’m wrought with anxiety about being ready, about getting my shots in with nobody on the floor but me. Sometimes I get this bad feeling, almost like an itch, and I’ve got to get rid of it. I’ve got to get out there and get my shots up so that feeling goes away. It is bothering me right now. Small things are getting to me.”"

Trade that with multiple anecdotes of Antetokounmpo racing back to the team’s former and current practice facility after games to replay in-game scenarios while wearing his sweat-drenched game uniform from that given night and it’s very easy to state that both Allen and Antetokounmpo’s consumption of the game knows no bounds.

While Allen was able to reach the mountain top on two occasions, once in 2008 as a member of the Boston Celtics and in 2013 with the Miami Heat, Antetokounmpo is keen on chasing the same path of greatness that is often expected of players of his caliber.

On the flip side, remnants of Allen’s time in Milwaukee still remain, given the fact that the Bucks still have yet to win a playoff series since 2001 nor have they had a 50-win season since Allen was wearing purple and green, the team’s primary colors throughout his stay.

As he continues down the long, winding path that is his growing playing career, Antetokounmpo’s burdened with leading a Bucks team and a city in Milwaukee longing for the success they once perennially enjoyed throughout their early years, just like Allen once was during his time with the team.

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And because of Allen, Bucks fans have learned not to take Antetokounmpo’s accolades and frequent moments of brilliance for granted, due to the all too present reminder for how quickly it can vanish in one fell swoop.