The Milwaukee Bucks have just pulled the trigger on what is currently the biggest trade of the offseason by bringing in former All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday from the New Orleans Pelicans.
Both Shams Charania of The Athletic and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news on Twitter:
In a later tweet, Woj detailed the draft picks the Bucks will be sending over to the Pelicans:
So to summarize, the Bucks get Holiday in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, three future first round picks, and two pick swaps. Now that's quite a haul. As Woj expressed above, it is somewhat reminiscent of what the Pelicans got last summer from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis.
This appears to be a great move by New Orleans, as they continue to stockpile future draft assets. While they part ways with a long-time servant in Jrue Holiday, getting Bledsoe and Hill in exchange — on top of the picks — does not sound like a bad deal at all.
As for the Bucks, Holiday represents an upgrade from Bledsoe, who himself served as Milwaukee's starting point guard last season. Holiday is widely regarded as one of the best defensive guards in the entire NBA, and he should slot in nicely with what has emerged as one of, if not the best defense in the league with the Bucks. He joins reigning Defensive Player of the Year winner Giannis Antetokounmpo (assuming of course that he stays in Milwaukee) and All-Defense second-team Brook Lopez.
It is worth noting, though, that Bledsoe himself was actually named in last season's second-team All-Defense, while Holiday was overlooked.