Milwaukee Bucks Get Bogdan Bogdanovic and Jrue Holiday

Two big names arrived in Milwaukee this Monday night, forward Bogdan Bogdanovic and guard Jrue Holiday.

Bogi Goes to Wisconsin

It seems that the Milwaukee Bucks are determined to win the title this year and honor their agreement with Giannis Antetokounmpo. They promised the two-time MVP enough talent around him to attack the ring, and on the very first day of the offseason, two high-caliber players landed at Fiserv Forum.

Sacramento Kings will sign a deal with Bogdan Bogdanovic and, after that, trade the lethal shooter to Wisconsin along with Justin Jackson. In return, they get Donte DiVincenzo, DJ Wilson, and Ersan Ilyasova.

Breaking: Milwaukee is landing Sacramento’s Bogdan Bogdanovic in a sign-and-trade deal.

The Bucks are trading Donte Divincenzo, Ersan Ilyasova and DJ Wilson in the deal to the Kings, sources tell @wojespn. pic.twitter.com/35Xf4h5fZ7

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 17, 2020

The Serbian forward averaged 15.1 points per game with 3.4 boards and assists during the previous season, in almost 30 minutes on the court. Bogdanovic is a versatile attacker who can organize plays and stretch defenses with his excellent three-point shooting. It is expected from him to not only help the Bucks with downtown shooting; but also be the leading scorer of the second unit and keep the offensive pace high when Giannis isn’t on the floor.

With De’Aaron Fox nearing the end of his rookie deal, and with Buddy Hield already having a massive contract, there was no place for Bogdanovic in Sacramento, even though he proved to be one of their best players. The Kings had to give up on him, and also, according to several sources from Serbia, the player wanted a bigger challenge and desired to move to Milwaukee.

Bucks Go All-In on Holiday

Jrue Holiday is one of the best guards in the league, and arguably among the top 5 backcourt defenders. The 30-year old was on the radar of several teams already during the previous year, but it seems that Milwaukee’s current status prevailed.

Holiday is the former All-Star, and over the past two seasons, was selected to the NBA All-Defensive team. In 61 matches played throughout the 2019-20 campaign, he posted 19.1 points, 6.7 assists, and 4.8 boards.

The Pelicans are getting a hefty reward for trading him to Milwaukee. Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, and three-first round picks are heading to Louisiana, meaning that the Bucks went all-in in this case.

Holiday’s defensive capabilities are something Milwaukee craves for. During the previous two playoffs, the biggest problem for the head coach Mike Budenholzer was how to defend the opponent’s guards, and in the majority of cases, his team lost games experiencing a lot of damage coming from the rival’s backcourt.

There it is. Giannis gotta love it. Jrue Holiday is an amazing fit—unselfish, secondary playmaking, good scorer, elite defender. And Bogdan Bogdanovic has been draining clutch shots ever since he played overseas, he's going to play his best basketball next to Giannis. Incredible. https://t.co/mRgLkQpWpt

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) November 17, 2020

Both Bogdanovic and Holiday know to hit from long distance, which will be very useful for Giannis once being double-teamed. With them on the court, each time the Greek Freak draws the attention of two guards, the possibility of punishing that from downtown will be very high.

Milwaukee’s action not only showed that they want to win the title this year, but also that they plan on pleasing Giannis’ desires no matter the cost. The rumors appeared that he plans on leaving the team following the upcoming season if the franchise doesn’t surround him with enough high-caliber players. That is, of course, unacceptable for the organization, and they had to react.

Bucks want to offer Giannis a super-max extension, and as a sign of their full commitment to the player’s needs, they listened to all of his requests and are now taking care of the same. Getting Bogi and Holiday is just the first step, and we can expect more in the days to come.