Milwaukee Bucks: 3 observations following the trade deadline

Holding on to that Pacers pick

Of course, the biggest exception to the Bucks’ summer moves last year was their sign-and-trade deal for Malcolm Brogdon with the Indiana Pacers. And it was through that move that the Bucks recouped three draft picks, the most notable one being the Pacers’ first rounder in this draft.

All season long, speculation simmered over whether the Bucks would end up using that pick, which is currently slotted for 18th in the draft order, in a midseason trade to fortify their core and overall talent level even further, despite not having a clear cut opening within the rotation.

Popular trade targets such as Bogdan Bogdanovic and Robert Covington became dream additions for Bucks fans to use that pick, even without the Bucks being tangibly linked to both players. As appetizing as that might have been from where we’re all sitting, the Bucks sending their best draft asset didn’t make up for the fact that they would have had to jump through plenty of hoops to match salaries for a veteran guard and wing player such as those examples.

That shouldn’t overshadow the question of whether the Bucks were truly motivated to part with that Pacers pick for a meaningful upgrade on their roster and clearly, there wasn’t something out there that was worthy enough to pull the trigger on that kind of deal from their perspective.

That, and the Bucks’ bet that Brogdon’s departure won’t sink their title hopes as a whole, will continue to define what the outcome of their season is, for better or for worse. We’ll just have to see whether their high-profile gamble will yield the ultimate reward.