Just as Milwaukee Bucks fans were ready to accept the roster for what it was, the front office made a surprise trade to keep everyone on their toes.
First reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Bucks will be trading Sam Merrill and two future second round picks to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for guard Grayson Allen. The guard will be yet another solid rotational piece added by the Bucks this offseason, giving them yet another versatile piece to throw into the mix.
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Allen has been in the league for three years now, but is of course most known for his time in college with the Duke Blue Devils. The 25-year-old was drafted 21st overall by the Utah Jazz in 2018. For his career, he’s averaged 8.5 points on 38.1 percent 3 point shooting (4.1 attempts).
Merrill was selected with the 60th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. He played in just 30 games for the Bucks, averaging a mere 7.8 minutes. In that short amount of playing time, Merrill did shoot 44.7 percent from three (1.6 attempts).
Allen should slot right into the main rotation and, when everyone is healthy, give the Bucks a capable 11 man rotation for the regular season. That’s without factoring in potential minutes for Thanasis Antetokounmpo (still unsigned) and Jordan Nwora.
What is the financial impact of the Grayson Allen trade for the Milwaukee Bucks?
The Bucks find themselves in a financial bind this offseason, but they managed to navigate this trade by utilizing some of the assets at their disposal.
Per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the Bucks used their $4.9 million trade exception to acquire Allen, which was created after trading D.J. Augustin to the Houston Rockets. Additionally, Merrill’s contract was set to become fully guaranteed on August 8th, and the Bucks may have opted to waive him but instead get a rotation player via trade.
As for Allen, he is set to make $4.1 million in the final year of his contract this coming season. Since he is on a rookie deal, he can become a restricted free agent after this season. That means the Bucks can pay him any amount to retain him as well as match any potential offer sheet he may receive, but they will cross that bridge when the time comes next offseason.
Overall, the Bucks’ salary and luxury tax number jumps to $200 million, and their luxury tax penalty goes from $36 million to $44 million. This recent transaction and the impact it has financially is a little interesting after many (myself included) questioned ownership’s willingness to spend after letting P.J. Tucker walk.
What is Grayson Allen’s fit on the Milwaukee Bucks?
There should be an interesting role for Grayson Allen, especially early on in his Bucks tenure. It is expected that Donte DiVincenzo won’t be ready at the beginning of the season as he recovers from ankle surgery, so there are minutes to be had on the wing.
The majority of Allen’s playing time has come at shooting guard in his career, but he has been able to play up a spot at small forward, despite his 6-foot-4, 198 pound frame. He and DiVincenzo have similar body types and athleticism, so there shouldn’t be too much overlap in that respect.
In terms of overall skill set, they bring slightly different things to the table. Offensively, Allen is the better overall shooter. He shot 39.1 percent from deep on a 66.2 percent 3 point rate this past season, while DiVincenzo shot 37.9 on a 57.4 percent 3 point rate in that same timeframe. Both Allen and DiVincenzo had similar volume as secondary pick-and-roll ball-handlers at around 19 percent, per NBA.com/stats. DiVincenzo was slightly more efficient as a ball-handler in those situations, and his assist rate was a couple of percentage points higher on similar usage.
Allen doesn’t bring the same value as a rebounder from the guard position as DiVincenzo either, but he did see his rebounding rate jump to double digits this past season, so there’s some similarity there as well. Overall, Allen profiles as a scaled version of DiVincenzo in most aspects but is a better shooter. I don’t think Allen should be considered the long-term starter at the position, but he’ll help fill in the gap before DiVincenzo comes back and then as he works himself back into game shape.
What is the grade for the Milwaukee Bucks’ trade for Grayson Allen?
This seems like a pretty good win for the Bucks from an acquisition cost standpoint.
Merrill was a candidate to be waived if they didn’t want to guarantee his contract or if they signed another player this offseason. The guard never quite carved out a role for himself in the rotation during his rookie campaign, and although many believed big things were coming in year two, it will not be in Milwaukee. They added two second round picks after trading back from 31st overall, so they had picks to move as well.
Allen should slot in as someone who can come in, give the Bucks another rotation player, and most be someone who you can trust at both ends during the playoffs as well. As I mentioned, he has a similar profile to DiVincenzo, which gives them another secondary ball-handling option for head coach Mike Budenholzer to have out there when Jrue Holiday is off the floor.
I like the Bucks bench depth a lot right now with the moves they’ve made. They have, at minimum, four reliable bench pieces in Allen, Bobby Portis, Pat Connaughton, and George Hill. I’d like to see them add possibly one more player with size, but if this is the roster they enter the season with, I’m pretty happy with it.
BTBP Final Grade: A
Welcome to Milwaukee, Grayson!