Jrue Holiday is heading to Milwaukee after New Orleans agreed to trade him for Eric Bledsoe, George Hill and a package of first-round picks, according to a source. Kelvin Kuo/Associated Press
Point guard Jrue Holiday is being traded from New Orleans to Milwaukee, which is aiming to give two-time reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo the improved roster that he seeks with the decision on his supermax contract extension looming, a person with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday.
The Pelicans are getting Eric Bledsoe, George Hill and a package of future first-round draft picks from the Bucks, the person told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no deal had been finalized.
ESPN, The Athletic and The New York Times first reported details of the Holiday trade. ESPN also said the Bucks were executing a second trade with Sacramento, with Bogdan Bogdanovic and Justin James going to Milwaukee for Donte DiVincenzo, D.J. Wilson and Ersan Ilyasova.
The Bucks’ message is clear: They want to win a title, and they want to give Antetokounmpo enough incentive to sign his supermax extension – one that will be worth more than $200 million for five years – before Dec. 21. When Antetokounmpo was announced as the back-to-back MVP in September, he stated his intention openly.
“I’m happy for this, I’m happy for this award,” Antetokounmpo said at the time. “But I want more. … I’ve got to keep getting better. I want to be a champion.”
Holiday will almost certainly make them better. Widely considered one of the best defenders in the NBA, he averaged 19.1 points and 6.7 assists last season and now joins Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton on a Milwaukee roster that will obviously look very different than it did this past season.
Holiday is due to earn $25.4 million this season and holds a $26.3 million player option for next season. Therein lies the gamble for the Bucks: There’s no guarantee that Holiday will stay more than a year, and Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee remains in at least some question as well. And it’s now almost certain that the Bucks will have to fill out their roster for this season with several minimum-salary players, since they’ll owe about $86 million to just Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Holiday this season.
SUNS-THUNDER TRADE: Chris Paul holds a $44 million option for the 2021-22 season, a massive payday that may have kept some teams from trying to trade for the All-Star point guard. The Phoenix Suns weren’t deterred.
They have a pair of All-Stars in their backcourt now, with hopes the duo of Paul and Devin Booker – one of the league’s most dynamic young scorers – will be enough to get the franchise back to the postseason for the first time since 2010.
The trade sending Paul to the Suns from Oklahoma City was completed late Monday night, a blockbuster to start what could be a wild few days of NBA transactions before training camps begin next month. The particulars: The Suns get Paul and forward Abdel Nader, while the Thunder get Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque and a protected 2022 first-round pick.
Rubio reacted to the trade news with a tweet, several hours before the moves got league approval and could be considered official: “… what a business,” he wrote.
It’s the second trade that the Thunder agreed to in a span of two days, the first coming Sunday when they agreed to send Dennis Schroder to the Los Angeles Lakers for Danny Green and the 28th pick in Wednesday’s draft. That transaction will be completed after the draft, a person with knowledge of those particulars told AP.
That trade, along with the Paul trade, could give the Thunder as many as 17 first-round picks in the next seven drafts.
CAVALIERS: Center Andre Drummond has told the Cavaliers he will exercise his $28.7 million contract option and stay with them this season.
Drummond was acquired by Cleveland in a surprising trade from Detroit in February. He had been expected for months to pick up the option.
A two-time All-Star with Detroit, the 27-year-old Drummond has consistently said he enjoys playing with the young Cavs. But now that he’s under contract for 2021, he could be packaged by the team in a trade because he has an expiring deal.
Drummond averaged 17.5 points and 11.1 rebounds in eight games with the Cavs, who were one of the eight teams excluded form the Orlando bubble. For his career, Drummond, the No. 9 overall pick in 2012, has averaged 14.5 points and 13.8 rebounds.
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