The Bucks are looking to move either guard Tony Snell or forward Ersan Ilyasova in a trade this week with draft compensation as the sweetener to the deal, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.
Milwaukee had the league’s best record but its roster is in a state of flux. The Bucks’ second-best player, swingman Khris Middleton, will become an unrestricted free agent when he opts out this month. Starting center Brook Lopez will also be unrestricted and guard Malcolm Brogdon will be a restricted free agent. The Bucks are also expected to make guard George Hill an unrestricted free agent, rather than guaranteeing his $18MM salary before the end of the month.
Snell has an $11.4MM salary next season and a player option for $12.2MM in 2020/21. Ilyasova’s contract might be easier to move. He’ll make $7MM next season but his $7MM salary for 2020/21 is not guaranteed.
There are also limitations to which draft picks the Bucks can offer, since they already are obligated to move several of them. They owe a protected first-rounder to the Suns next year and a protected first-rounder to the Cavaliers in 2022. They’ve also traded second-round picks to the Kings (2019), Pelicans (2020) and Pacers (2021).
This year’s first-round pick (No. 30) could be officially traded after the pick has been made, but not before then, due to the Stepien rule.
Snell, 27, appeared in 74 regular-season games this season, including 12 starts, but was a non-factor in the postseason due to an ankle injury. He’s a career 38.2% 3-point shooter.
Ilyasova, 32, has played for six organizations since the 2015/16 season. He’s a 36.5% career 3-point shooter and also led the league this past season in charges drawn.
Snell will cost a first. They don’t have any more, unless they help another team make a pick at 30.
The article forgot to mention that their second this year belongs to Sacramento.
They could buy a first and send it along. 1st rounders in the 20s have usually cost around $3-5 million in the past. It’s changed a bit since they imposed cash limits, but they could still probably do it if they needed to. And even if they couldn’t trade the pick, they could always pick someone and trade him afterward.
I can’t recall a first round pick ever being sold for straight cash
The Lakers did it 10 years ago, although it was technically for cash and a low second round pick.
The Bucks could do the same thing. Buying pick for cash and a future second.
Although this season, they wouldn’t really need to since they have pick #30. Even if they cannot trade their pick before the draft, they can always select whatever player a team want and pair Snell with him in exchange for the Kings pick at 60 for example.
Nobody’s sold a 1st for cash since the 2011 CBA was entered into. Probably longer.
Yeah, usually it’s second round picks being traded for cash
Both are good, appropriately priced players. Shame you have to “dump them”
Weird that they committed money to Snell and immediately went another direction.
wow who would have guessed signing snell to all that was a bad idea.
Draft pick compensation isn’t such a great sweetener when the picks are at least 5 years out, and right now any pick they can trade can only be traded contingently (although 2026 can be traded outright after Thursday). They can attach the rights to Thursday’s #30 (after they make it), or throw in one of their recent picks (Wilson or DiV). This likely waits until the teams with cap space and nowhere else to turn are known.
Now is not the time to get cheap, see Rockets
Go for it, Knicks. Would seem like a smart move. They have cap space and I don’t necessarily think they’d immediately be a contender if they managed to spend a lot this offseason. Grab a pick and a player.
Ilyasova is going to be easy to dump. They probably expect something in return for his contract.
Snell is going to take a pick and probably cash to get rid of. #30 + 3 million + a couple of future seconds might get it done, assuming they make the trade after free agency starts. But it’s going to take a team like Sacramento realizing they aren’t going to make use of their cap space and deciding to punt.
More likely, they move Snell at the trade deadline along with another player like Connaughton. It will suck.
Connaughton is on a cheap deal, is serviceable , and can back up 3 positions. He’s not going anywhere. I would keep Ersan. He fits Bud’s system and while he has some warts, plays a good role
I would take both for CP3 chins maybe a 3 way deal?