The Milwaukee Bucks have been through some big changes this offseason and after trading Brandon Jennings to the Detroit Pistons, the team now has a new head coach, new point guard and new hopes for the playoffs despite losing top scorer Monta Ellis to the Mavericks.
The team pulled off the Jennings trade after not being able to come to an agreement with the point guard, as he wanted a $10-plus million deal as a restricted free agent and now he will get a three year deal worth $24 million with the Pistons after the sign and trade and the Bucks will get Brandon Knight as their new PG of the future. The Bucks lost Ellis this offseason and signed Carlos Delfino, Zaza Pachulia, traded for Luke Ridnour and now they add Knight to the mix along with Gary Neal and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who signed deals this past week.
The Bucks have a new head coach in Larry Drew from the Hawks and the team also signed second round pick Nate Wolters to a deal. The team felt they had no choice but to trade Jennings despite wanting to bring him back and now they get Knight, who showed potential with 13.1 points, 3.9 assists and 2.7 over the past two seasons, but he never quite clicked with Joe Dumars in Detroit. Jennings leaves after averaging 17 points, 5.7 assists and 2.4 turnovers with the Bucks during his run and now the 23-year-old will try to get the Pistons back to the playoffs after adding Chauncey Billups and Josh Smith in the offseason.
Jennings was formerly the number 10 pick in the draft back in 2009 and Knight comes after being taken out of Kentucky in 2011 as the eighth overall pick. Both players have their flaws, the Bucks felt it made sense to move Jennings since a contract deal was at a stalemate. The Bucks made the playoffs as the eighth seed last season and made the postseason for the first time in three years and now they feel like they can do it again by adding Knight.
The team also signed Neal from the Spurs, a solid move that gives them some veteran depth after he averaged 9.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists in three years with the team and he also had a fantastic game 3 in the finals against the Miami Heat. The Bucks also signed first-round draft pick Giannis Antetokounmpo after he was the 15th pick in the draft and he comes in after averaging 9.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in Greece.
