The Big Lead

Eric Bledsoe Will Help Giannis and the Bucks But Team Still Has a Ceiling

By Ryan Glasspiegel

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Eric Bledsoe is heading to Milwaukee, according to Woj and Zach Lowe. A framework of this deal has been rumored since Bledsoe’s fateful “hair salon” tweet, so I don’t know if it qualifies as a bombshell, but it should help the Bucks out a bit right now. The Bucks reportedly gave up Greg Monroe, who is currently injured and is a free agent after this season, and a first round pick, which should land somewhere between 10th and 20th overall.

Thus far, the Bucks have been disappointing this season. They came in with big expectations, but have gotten off to a 4-5 start. Giannis Antetokounmpo has made a big leap. It seems as though every night the Bucks have a game the Greek Freak has a highlight that no other human on Earth could replicate. He is currently the NBA’s scoring leader at 31 points per game.

The biggest issue the Bucks have is when he leaves the game the offense runs dry. Bledsoe should be helpful there as he averaged over 20 points per game each of the past two seasons (though he’s only played a total of 97 games in those two years). One caveat is that he’s just a 33.4% three-point shooter for his career, and you’d like that to be a bit higher for a shooting point guard. For the Bucks’ sake, hopefully this move can reinvigorate Jason Kidd, who has been good at coaching point guards in the past. So far this season, the Bucks have missed Michael Beasley, who gave them a scoring spark off the bench last year.

Overall, this is a good trade for the Bucks, but it’s hard to see how it vaults them past the Celtics in the East, or the Cavs, presuming they wake up. The way the NBA works, the hour glass is ticking on the Bucks’ tenure with the Greek Freak; he is signed through the 2020-2021 season. But, without the benefit of a high lottery pick or being a destination city that is attractive for free agents, Milwaukee is going to have to build a core around him that can reasonably compete for titles in the next few years if they want to keep him around beyond that.