The Milwaukee Bucks kick-started the post-Giannis Antetokounmpo era this summer. The inevitable trade to send the franchise star away was finally done before the start of free agency. The Bucks preferred the draft pick-heavy trade package from the Miami Heat, setting themselves up for the future.
However, that wasn't the only move they made. While the front office may be criticized for not trading away more veterans with trade value, the Bucks made a couple of fascinating moves. Let's choose the best and worst moves they made.
Best move: Drafting Brayden Burries
What Milwaukee was going to do with the No. 10 pick was their most important decision after the Giannis trade. They could have gone a variety of ways, but decided to take Arizona's Brayden Burries, and that was the right call.
This isn't to say that this will definitely work out, and Burries is going to be a star. If we are evaluating the process over the result, however, this was the best move the Bucks could have made.
None of the players selected after Burries has his upside. His ability to play on and off the ball, while providing potentially high-level two-way play, is intriguing. This has been made obvious during the Summer League. Burries had an incredible showing on Sunday night, putting up 26 points, three rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks on 9/16 shooting in less than 30 minutes of action.
Burries has been one of the best rookies in the Summer League among players drafted outside the top four. Knowing how advanced his game in Arizona was, this is hardly surprising. It's difficult to imagine the Bucks regretting this pick.
Worst move: Signing Gary Trent Jr. to a four-year, $64 million deal
This deal left plenty of Bucks fans and NBA watchers aghast. Trent Jr. was on a minimum contract in back-to-back seasons in Milwaukee. Despite just having his worst season since his rookie campaign, Trent Jr. somehow landed a deal worth $16 million per year.
The widespread expectation was that the veteran shooting guard would come back to Milwaukee for around the minimum once again. The Bucks could have paid him slightly above that to do right by him, but no one saw this coming.
Trent Jr. should bounce back and have a better season next year. He will presumably shoot better and be around his career percentage of 38.7% from three. Even then, a four-year commitment was certainly not necessary. The Bucks could have given him another year, then evaluated things next summer.
Naturally, this has raised a ton of question marks. It is admittedly an eyebrow-raising contract that has led to cap circumvention allegations. Whether that is the case or not, this deal is certainly difficult to explain.
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