2019-20 Finish: 67-15

 

Season Highlight:

This is the year Badwolf and the Bucks stopped messing around and won a title. The mercurial GM often complains about being bored and often trades star power to keep the average age of his team around 22 (see below) but this year, the Bucks went all in and stormed through the competition to bring a trophy home to the fans in Wisconsin. Behind superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and numerous other homegrown talent, the Bucks blanked all their opponents, including Eastern Conference favorites Charlotte Hornets and the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals. In predictable Badwolf fashion, the GM didn’t even show up for the victory press conference. He was too busy scouting the incoming rookies and scouring the league for a way to get more picks.

 

Season Lowlight:

You can’t really have a lowlight in a season like this one. So let’s go with this one: despite the glory of winning it all, the season was somewhat tainted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Play was halted for months and when the games finally did resume, the Bucks won it all in front of empty arenas. Many players do this for the fans (and the money) and not being able to hear cheers while storming to victory must have been a real bummer.

 

Best Trade:

The Indiana Pacers send Jusuf Nurkic to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Milwaukee Bucks send Taurean Prince and Wendell Carter Jr to the Indiana Pacers.

 

Though Nurkic missed most of the season due to injury, this was a really great move for the Bucks. They managed to ditch Prince before his big salary increase (is he worth nearly $13 million) and though Carter is a bargain on his rookie deal, getting a starting-caliber big man in Nurkic at a bargain contract is a way for the Bucks to pay stars like Giannis later down the road without getting jammed up with the lux. The Bucks are so stacked anyway, they can make these 2:1 deals and still have assets to spare.

 

Worst Trade:

It’s way too early to call this one. But let’s check back in a few years and see any of the deals listed below will qualify. There is a chance they will, but no one can tell now.

 

Other Notable Trades:

For those not in the know, Badwolf has a pretty good little operation running in Milwaukee. He is always loaded with draft picks and he can use them to either grab great players or use them as capital to get future picks. He loves to move his players for picks and this year is not the exception. Until people stop trading with Wolf, he will run the draft market for perpetuity.

 

The Milwaukee Bucks send Donovan Mitchell to the New York Knicks.

The Milwaukee Bucks send a 2021 2nd-Rounder (Mem) to the New York Knicks. The New York Knicks send a 2020 1st-Rounder (Mia) and 2021 1st-Rounder (Bos) to the Milwaukee Bucks.

 

Spida about to get paid. Spida leave the Bucks. After helping Wolf win a ring, the Slovenian GM thanked his star by shipping him off to the Knicks (where he would become the man) for the number one pick overall (he snagged Anthony Edwards) and a future pick. The 2021 draft is shaping up to be a barnburner, but the pick is top 10 protected so Wolf can’t be in line to be first again. If not, he can just trade another guy like Spida for the pick.

But there was also a controversy with this trade. Wolf supposedly had a deal in place with the Grizzlies for Mitchell and while the deal was going through the probie process, Darko showed up with that 1^st overall pick. So Wolf pulled out and that’s how he landed Edwards.

 

The Memphis Grizzlies send Dante Exum and Marquese Chriss to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Milwaukee Bucks send Karl-Anthony Towns to the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Memphis Grizzlies send a 2020 1st-Rounder (Mem) and 2022 1st-Rounder (Mem) to the Milwaukee Bucks.

 

Seeing a trend here? It’s no secret that Wolf wanted to move KAT for ages. And the Grizzlies finally anted up with the required first rounders to get the star center. The first picked turned into Onyeka Okongwu and the second one is top 5 protected but goes unprotected in 2023.

Once again, Wolf is already lined up at the draft trough like a coke addict with his straw. There is no telling if these players will live up to KAT and Spida, but if not? Trade them for future picks. It’s ingenious and insidious.

 

Free Agency:

Bucks are always stacked and never play the FA market. Point guard Ricky Rubio hit the road. He’s old, anyway.

 

Star:

Giannis Antetokounmpo -F

Is there any question here? This guy is an absolute beast. He averaged 30.2 ppg, coming in third in the league in points per game. He also led the league in free throws made and free throw attempts, showing that he knows how to get to the line. Giannis also led the league in steals per game and finished in the top 5 in field goals made. During the playoffs, he hit 60% of his shots and knocked opponents silly with 37.4 ppg.

Goat:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – G

Not really a goat by any means, but Shai didn’t live up to his NBA counterpart. Granted, he didn’t even play 20 mpg but he didn’t do much with those minutes, chipping in a paltry 6.9 ppg and 2.7 apg. With more minutes, Shai would likely shine. There is a good chance we’ll see what he can do when he’s traded to another team this season for a first-rounder.

 

Draft Grade:

Wolf cleaned up at the draft, selecting the following players:

Pick 1: Anthony Edwards

Pick 3: Onyeka Okongwu

Pick 6: Killian Hayes

Pick 11: Patrick Williams

Pick 20: Josh Green

At first blush, this is a nice haul and pretty sick considering the team won the ring last season. But take a closer look and ask yourself: was this worth the cost? Will any of these players become a Donovan Mitchell or Karl-Anthony Towns? With six top 20 picks, the odds are good but there have been doubts about this draft. But we know what will happen: the weakest will go for firsts before the shine is gone and the best will likely go later for even more picks. Maybe not. Good draft for the Bucks, nonetheless.

 

The Future:

Will the Bucks repeat this season? Who knows but they aren’t nearly as good with KAT and Spida gone. Giannis can do it all and will carry this squad and the supporting cast of Trae Young, Nurkic and Zach LaVine are strong. Some of the rookies will be called on immediately to chip in, so a lot depends on how well their college game translates to the NLL. Either way, the Bucks are in good shape and could turn into a dynasty. A lot of it depends on how bored Wolf gets. Either way, the Bucks will likely be good for years and years to come!