The Milwaukee Bucks lucked out this past season, just not exactly in the way that fans hoped. It worked out (at least somewhat) in the end, as they had the No. 10 pick in the first round of the draft, which they used to select guard Brayden Burries out of Arizona. Thanks to New Orleans for making that possible.
As part of the Jrue Holiday trade in 2020, the Bucks swapped first-round picks with the Pelicans in 2024 and 2026, but because New Orleans finished with a worse record (26-56) than Milwaukee (32-50), the draft lottery odds helped ensure the Bucks would keep their pick.
The Pelicans would've had the No. 8 selection in the draft, but they sent it to the Hawks on draft night last year to trade up to pick Derik Queen. The specifics of that don't matter anymore; what does is that Milwaukee had a top-10 pick in a stacked lottery class because of New Orleans' own mess.
Bucks didn't have to swap picks with Pelicans (the Hawks)
Milwaukee got what it wanted out of that trade six years ago with New Orleans, and that was a championship, so even if the Bucks would've had to swap picks with the Pelicans this year, what happened in 2021 still would've made it worth it.
The timing of getting to keep the No. 10 pick couldn't have been better, though. Rather than gamble on another trade (or signing), Milwaukee ended the Giannis Antetokounmpo era by trading him to Miami. Keeping the No. 10 pick was key, and the Bucks added to it with the No. 13 pick from the Heat.
They have two young players in Burries and Nate Ament to build their post-Giannis future around.
Take a second to imagine what it would've been like if Milwaukee, which didn't even make it to the play-in tournament, had kept Antetokounmpo and didn't have a lottery pick. The Bucks would be stuck in the same cycle they had been in, but they've turned the page for a fresh start, and Burries will be at the forefront of it all.
If you're going to swap the rights to a pick in a trade, it helps if the team on the other end is the Pelicans, who never cease to get out of their own way. Holiday isn't around anymore, but somehow, the Bucks are still benefiting from that trade, and they certainly need it now more than ever.
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