The Milwaukee Bucks have made their all-in move this season and nearly a week out from the trade deadline.
First reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski right before the Bucks’ clash with the Philadelphia 76ers tipped off, Milwaukee has acquired P.J. Tucker and Rodions Kurucs from the Houston Rockets for D.J. Augustin and D.J. Wilson.
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Also included in the deal is what is essentially a pick swap between both clubs that sees the Rockets trade the Bucks back their 2022 first round pick as well as Houston’s 2021 second rounder in exchange for the Bucks’ 2021 and 2023 first round picks (takes a deep breath).
Also, in a separate move, the Bucks have sent reserve wing Torrey Craig to the Phoenix Suns for cash considerations as Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentiel relayed.
The #Bucks will receive cash considerations from the #Suns in return for Torrey Craig. https://t.co/Js7tvL4uuf
— Jim Owczarski (@JimOwczarski) March 18, 2021
Got all of that? Good. All in all, the Bucks have clearly reshaped their bench unit, all of which was formed in their frantic offseason. With two of those additions now gone in Augustin and Craig, the Bucks get the player they have wanted for some time now.
Milwaukee Bucks get the defensive specialist they wanted in P.J. Tucker.
The Bucks have long been linked to the veteran forward all the way back to the offseason and before the Rockets slid into their rebuild after trading away superstar guard James Harden earlier in the season. As Tucker’s discontent with the Rockets reached a fever pitch last week, he now joins the contender he wants to be with in the Bucks where he’ll be expected to fill a valuable role off the bench.
More importantly, the Bucks didn’t have to part ways with their best prospect in Donte DiVincenzo and ship out their biggest contract handed out from the offseason, that being Augustin.
With that, there’s also the financial incentives to consider throughout their pair of moves in this trade, which brings the Bucks’ roster down to 13 players. The Bucks have a little more wiggle room by being $1.25 million under the luxury tax and $3.53 million under the cap apron as Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype detailed here.
This was a cost-cutting move and the Bucks are now below the luxury tax.
— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) March 17, 2021
By getting off Craig, as well as decreasing salary in the PJ Tucker trade, the Bucks go from just $441,539 below the hard cap to $1.25M below the luxury tax and $3.53 below the apron. https://t.co/SXsttwQKED
That now gives the Bucks the room to operate on the buyout market more immediately, if they so choose. As we’re seeing at the moment, the Bucks’ roster is very much evolving and there is still seven days left to go until the deadline as well as who all emerges on the buyout market.
Ultimately, though, the Bucks acquire the lockdown defender they wanted, with that ultimately being Tucker. Now that he’s reportedly Milwaukee bound, we’ll see what Tucker has left in the tank for a Bucks team that has high aspirations.