John Henson
Preseason prediction: Will be traded before the end of the year
Verdict: Correct
All hail the Horst Gawd. With Henson due nearly $10 million the next season and the additions of Lopez and Ilyasova, the North Carolina big man was clearly on the trade block.
Although Henson did all he could to reshape his game to fit Budenholzer’s new scheme, including launching from deep (Henson shot 35 percent on 2.0 three-point attempts per game while with the Bucks!), the best choice for the franchise was to move on.
With Middleton, Brogdon, Lopez and (at the time) Bledsoe all headed for free agency in the summer, the Bucks needed some more cap space to work with, and general manager Jon Horst pulled off a beauty of a trade by shipping Henson’s and Matthew Dellavedova’s contracts to Cleveland along with a first round pick for George Hill.
Not only was it a great trade for the Bucks financial future, but the addition of Hill has been crucial to the guard depth of the Bucks, especially with recent injuries to Brogdon, DiVincenzo and Snell.
Jon Horst for Executive of the Year.
Running tally: 2/8, 1 push