Milwaukee Bucks acquire George Hill and Jason Smith, send John Henson, Matthew Dellavedova, draft picks to Cleveland

The Milwaukee Bucks completed a shock trade on Friday, acquiring George Hill and Jason Smith in exchange for Matthew Dellavedova, John Henson and draft picks.

UPDATE: According to Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst of ESPN, Sam Dekker will be dealt to the Washington Wizards as the trade becomes a three-way deal, with Jason Smith and a future second round pick headed to Milwaukee.

With a record of 16-7 and everything going according to plan for the Milwaukee Bucks through the first quarter of the season, it’s safe to say the franchise had arguably looked less likely to make a trade than they had for a number of years.

So of course, like a bolt out of the blue, reports emerged on Friday that Jon Horst has indeed pulled the trigger on a trade, and not a minor deal for that matter either.

According to reports from a variety of sources, as can be seen above, the Bucks have acquired veteran point guard George Hill and former Wisconsin Badger Sam Dekker from the Cleveland Cavaliers, with Matthew Dellavedova, John Henson and a (protected) first and a second round pick from 2021 headed the other way.

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The deal could quickly be identified as serving multiple purposes for the Bucks.

First and foremost, it sheds significant salary that was otherwise committed for the next couple of years. This not only creates greater flexibility heading into a summer when Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe, Malcolm Brogdon and Brook Lopez will all be free agents, but it also creates enough space for the Bucks to have a chance at making a major free agency splash in either of the next two summers.

The cost of picks is not insignificant, but it was approaching fantasy to imagine the Bucks getting off these two deals for less than that cost. It’s the kind of move that will rightly make many uncomfortable, but it’s a true sign of intent for a Bucks team with stars worth retaining, and others they may like to pursue.

Secondly, though, the deal should help Milwaukee to improve immediately. In place of the injured Henson, and Dellavedova, who has played sparingly, Hill will make for an obvious rotation fit. At 32 years old, Hill has fallen from the peak of his powers when he was the picture of consistency for the Indiana Pacers. Still, Hill likely grades out as an above average backup point guard, who possesses good instincts on both ends, nice size, and a smooth shooting stroke.

With Eric Bledsoe and Malcolm Brogdon spending so much time along side each other in the backcourt, that’s by no means insignificant.

Hill is a 38.4 percent three-point shooter for his career, and on the season to date he’s averaging 46.4 percent in 13 games. It’s also worth nothing that Hill spent the first three seasons of his career in San Antonio, where he was a favorite of Gregg Popovich, and of course played under Mike Budenholzer.

Dekker will prove a popular addition with many Bucks fans due to his strong pedigree from his time as a Wisconsin Badger, and the role he played on the NCAA runner-up back in 2015. Having said that, Dekker is very much still working to carve out a niche in the NBA, and will be hoping that Budenholzer’s famed development staff can aid him in that regard.

On the outgoing side of the equation, the Bucks bid farewell to two high character players who stood out as well-liked, veteran voices in the locker room in recent years.

Henson has always been the picture of affability during his time with the Bucks, although his recent injury has stood out as just the latest example of how inconsistency and health issues have always seemed to thwart the on-court contributions of a player with great promise.

Henson will leave Milwaukee with a sense of unfulfilled potential, yet considering the tumult of his surroundings throughout his seven years as a Buck, the responsibility for that doesn’t lie solely on his shoulders.

As for Dellavedova, he’ll return to Cleveland and hope to rediscover the form that led to his career high points with that franchise, and the kind of form which earned him his lucrative pay day in Milwaukee. Dellavedova has never lived up to that contract, and much like Henson, the salary became a stick with which to beat him with whenever he didn’t deliver. Unfortunately for Dellavedova, that was an all too regular occurrence.

As noted by Adrian Wojnarowsi of ESPN, there was a pressing need for both teams to get a deal completed at this current juncture as it leaves open the opportunity of the traded players being moved again as part of additional deals at the trade deadline.

According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Hill is expected to take his physical on Monday in Milwaukee. Fittingly, the Cavaliers are the visitors to Fiserv Forum on Monday night, although it remains to be seen whether any of the players involved in the trade will take part in that contest.

In the meantime, the Bucks have the small matter of a clash with the Golden State Warriors to attend to on Friday evening.