The Milwaukee Bucks gave up a substantial haul to acquire Jrue Holiday via trade to kick off their offseason, but the move is justifiable with the bigger picture in mind.
Milwaukee Bucks General manager Jon Horst promised that the Milwaukee Bucks would take “big swings” this offseason.
While much has occurred between those statements to now, he delivered by acquiring Jrue Holiday from the New Orleans Pelicans. In Holiday, the Bucks now have a lethal two-way guard in the backcourt to help them in their quest for a title next season
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However, adding the 30-year-old did no come cheap and the Bucks had other plans in trying to bring together a formidable five, given their failed pursuit of Bogdan Bogdanovic.
In exchange for Holiday, the Bucks sent a package that included Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, and a hefty haul of draft picks. That haul of draft picks turned out to be th Bucks’ first round picks in 2020, 2025, and 2027, along with the rights to swap picks in 2024 and 2026.
The move has some around the league justifiably questioning whether the Milwaukee Bucks overpaid for Holiday’s services. While that is undoubtedly up for debate, here are three reasons why the Jrue Holiday trade is worth the price at this moment.
Milwaukee Bucks: 3 reasons why Jrue Holiday trade was worth the price – Surefire upgrade in the backcourt
For three consecutive seasons, Bledsoe has been the primary scapegoat in the Milwaukee Bucks’ postseason shortcomings, justifiably. The Bucks knew that it was time to move on, and they could not have hit much bigger of a home run than they did with Holiday.
Holiday is arguably the best two-way guard in the league and his high-end play on both ends of the court is unmatched among those at his position. No disrespect to Bledsoe, but the Bucks have upgraded with a better playmaker, scorer, defender, and overall fit with the Bucks at the 1.
Getting Bledsoe off the books was also something that everyone knew would be challenging as he has three years and $54 million remaining on his current deal, though only $38.9 million is guaranteed. ESPN’s Zach Lowe had previously reported that Bledsoe’s trade value had “cratered” and that finding a willing trade partner would be a tall task for the Bucks.
Given that he was the financial centerpiece of the deal, Milwaukee had to give up a sizeable amount of draft capital to move on from Bledsoe and were admittedly going to have to do so, even if they hadn’t acquired someone of Holiday’s caliber. But if they are going to depart with that level of draft capital, it might as well be for a player of Holiday’s stature.