Milwaukee Bucks: Draft night trade with Hawks fell through at final moment

By Adam McGee | Jun 22, 2018

ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 26: General Manager Travis Schlenk of the Atlanta Hawks introduces new draft picks John Collins, Tyler Dorsey, and Alpha Kaba during a Press Conference on June 26, 2017 at Fox Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images) /

According to Atlanta Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk, the Milwaukee Bucks almost completed a trade to move down in the 2018 NBA Draft.

After a draft process that had been shrouded in secrecy throughout for the Milwaukee Bucks, it appears a lack of secrecy at the pivotal moment may have spurned the team’s plans in Thursday night’s NBA Draft.

With a variety of options on the board for the Bucks when they selected Donte DiVincenzo at 17, it seemed as if there may have been an opportunity for Milwaukee to trade down and still land a top target while picking up additional assets in the process. That didn’t come to pass, but it seems like it was explored.

According to ESPN, speaking on 95.7 The Game on Friday morning, Atlanta Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk revealed that his team had been in talks with the Bucks for a deal centered around swapping the 17th and 19th picks.

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Schlenk explained that Kevin Huerter, who he ultimately drafted at 19, was a player the team were considering trading up to draft, leading to discussions with Milwaukee.

"“Last night, for instance, we had the 19th pick, and we’re coming down and we’re actually talking to Milwaukee on the 17th pick, talking about trading up to get a guy we like,” Schlenk said. “There were a couple of guys we felt really good about on the 19th pick, obviously Kevin [Huerter] was one of them, and it leaked who Milwaukee was going to take.”"

Unfortunately for the Bucks, Schlenk received an out from those talks when reports of Milwaukee’s intentions to draft DiVincenzo emerged and he realized there was no need to move up to secure Huerter’s services.

"“So, all of a sudden, we were able to pull back out of that deal and keep the draft pick instead of packaging picks to move up because we knew that, two guys on the board we felt really good about and only one team in between us, so that was beneficial to us last night.”"

The early reporting of draft picks was a source of great discussion in recent days following an agreement between major outlets to avoid the practice, yet with the use of some frequently creative language on the night, draft reporting essentially played out as it has done for years.

Considering the Bucks’ inability to secure a second round pick on Thursday, Schlenk getting wind of Milwaukee’s plans may have been quite costly, though.

Schlenk taking the decision to share that information, and effectively leave the Bucks with egg on their face, is a somewhat surprising move considering the level of trust that’s frequently described as essential between GMs, but having landed his target it likely plays as a much more inconsequential anecdote in Atlanta than it does in Milwaukee.

After such a commitment to secrecy surrounding workouts and prospects visiting Milwaukee — including eliminating the workout media availability that had been a staple for the franchise in recent years — a deal backfiring in this manner was unfortunate to say the least.

Speaking of that decision at his pre-draft availability earlier in the week, Horst explained:

"“We decided to keep our workouts private this year, and it was important for us. Some teams do that, some teams don’t. It’s proprietary information to us and information that, I think, gives us a competitive advantage over the rest of the league.”"

Having taken such careful steps to ensure that advantage through the process, it would seem like there must undoubtedly have been considerable disappointment when information regarding their pick ultimately made its way out and acted to the Bucks’ detriment.

Part of the draft game is that reporters will share what they have (i.e. performing the basic function of their job), but teams involved in trade discussions will often manage to keep a lid on their thinking in order to ensure an agreement can be finalized.

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That wasn’t the case for the Bucks on Thursday, and even if they had additional plans, it meant they only came away with DiVincenzo to show for their night’s work.

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