After their reported trade for Jrue Holiday, the Milwaukee Bucks struck again. They have agreed to acquire free-agent wing Bogdan Bogdanovic from the Sacramento Kings in a sign-and-trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. In return, they will send guard Donte Divincenzo, D.J. Wilson and Ersan Ilyasova to Sacramento.
Bogdanovic, 28, will join the Bucks on a new contract, the terms of which have yet to be reported. Milwaukee will also receive wing Justin James in the deal.
With this move and the Holiday deal, the Bucks have made their big splash. Bogdanovic has seemed like a logical target since they elected not to re-sign Malcolm Brogdon last summer, as he brings an appealing combination of shooting and playmaking to a roster in need of both. Milwaukee was short on creators even when it had Brogdon, and Bogdanovic will add some juice to an offense that was nearly unstoppable in the regular season but could get stagnant come playoff time.
The downside is that the Bucks had to give up DiVincenzo to make it happen. Drafted No. 17 in 2018, the 23-year-old showed significant improvement from his injury-shortened rookie season to 2019-20, carving out a spot in the rotation with his perimeter defense, rebounding and feel for the game. He was not yet a reliable shooter, though, and Bogdanovic is a clear upgrade as a scorer, too.
Let’s break down the trades for both teams in this deal.
Milwaukee Bucks receive:
Sacramento Kings receive:
Milwaukee trade grade: A
In addition to the Holiday deal, adding a young, talented scorer like Bogdanovic is a huge plus for a team that struggled to consistently get things going in the postseason. He’ll be another playmaker and shot creator for the Bucks, and another weapon at Giannis’ disposal. The negative here, however, is that regardless of how much Bogdanovic makes, the Bucks will sacrifice some flexibility as they try to fill out the rest of their roster. By receiving a player in a sign-and-trade, they are subject to the hard cap, meaning that their total salaries cannot exceed $138.9 million at any point in the 2020-21 season. As was the case with the Holiday trade, though, this transaction must be judged in terms of how it affects Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the team.
If the front office knows that these moves will inspire Milwaukee’s franchise player to sign an extension this offseason, then it has already won. If Antetokounmpo does not sign one, then it’s a completely different story.
Sacramento trade grade: B
If the Kings were unlikely to retain Bogdanovic at a price they could justify, DiVincenzo is precisely the type of player they should have been looking for: young, improving and defensive-minded. Wilson has upside as a stretch 5 with some defensive versatility, although their front office will probably need to make a few more moves if he’s going to get more of an opportunity to play than he had in Milwaukee. Sacramento’s frontcourt rotation is crowded, even if the veteran Ilyasova doesn’t stick around. Sacramento solved its Bogdanovic-or-Buddy Hield dilemma, although that doesn’t mean the latter doesn’t get dealt as he’s been disgruntled with the franchise the last few months. You do have to wonder, though, if this was the best deal that the Kings could’ve gotten for Bogdanovic, given his age and offensive versatility.
