Milwaukee Bucks: Should they trade their 2019 first round pick?
By Dan Larsen
With the 2019 NBA Draft less than a week away, should the Milwaukee Bucks consider trading their first round pick on draft night?
With the 2018-19 NBA season officially behind us, it’s worth looking ahead to what could be one of the most active and uncertain summers in league history.
The Milwaukee Bucks are set to embark on this summer of uncertainty in, what should be, one of the best positions to contend next season.
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Even though they have several key players entering free agency in a few weeks (Khris Middleton, Malcolm Brogdon, Brook Lopez, and Nikola Mirotic), the Bucks are in a difficult, but feasible position to run their team back if they so choose. That’s even something that their franchise player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, has said he’d prefer the team to do.
Though they may try to run their team back, the Bucks will still be looking for any way they can improve their team in the coming days, especially on the margins of the squad. Given that they came up just short in the Eastern Conference Finals to the newly crowned NBA Champion Toronto Raptors, making even slight improvements could be the difference between another early exit or an NBA Championship.
Milwaukee will have their first shot at improving their team on Thursday in the 2019 NBA Draft. The Bucks posses the final pick of the first round (30th overall), their only current selection in this year’s draft.
Milwaukee are in an interesting position with their draft pick this year. What they do with it could have a significant bearing on subsequent roster moves, especially with their cap situation being as tight as it is. This was something that was recently explored by Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
Milwaukee cannot trade their first round pick before draft night per NBA rules because of previous trades they’ve made involving their future first round picks. They can, however, agree to move their 2019 pick on draft night and select on behalf of a trade partner, if they so choose, since it would then no longer be considered a future pick. This could open up a variety of different options for them explore.
With a draft night trade of their first round pick an option, then, it’s worth discussing whether doing so would be in the best interest in the team.