Report: Bucks Acquire Eric Bledsoe for Greg Monroe and First-Round Pick

There it is folks! Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that the Milwaukee Bucks are acquiring Eric Bledsoe from the Phoenix Suns for Greg Monroe and a first-round draft pick.

The move comes after several weeks of grumbling from Eric Bledsoe, not to mention getting sent home by the Phoenix organization who publicly reprimanded him by disregarding his “salon” excuse for the now infamous “I don’t wanna be here” tweet.

For Bledsoe, it gets him out of a toxic situation that had only grown more temperamental as the weeks went on. For Milwaukee, it gets them a more dynamic guard in their backcourt to help out Malcolm Brogdon while simultaneously jettisoning Greg Monroe in the final year of his contract. Woj hasn’t said whether the pick that is included in the deal has any protections on it, but even if it is next year’s pick, the common thinking is that it would be a higher selection given Giannis’ ascendance and general expectations for this Milwaukee team.

While the Bucks have done well picking in the middle of the first round to this point, and a small market team generally shouldn’t give up lengthy, affordable contracts, this seems like a worthwhile gamble particularly if Bledsoe can help Milwaukee climb up the Eastern Conference ranks. There’s no word yet on if Bledsoe could potentially play tonight for Milwaukee, but we will keep you updated throughout the day as we learn more.

UPDATE: According to the full details from Woj, Milwaukee will also be sending a second-round pick to Phoenix to complete the trade. In addition, the first-round pick will have lottery protections on it, a smart move and one that seems fair given they’re forking over another late pick. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin also reported that Eric Bledsoe will likely not play in tonight’s game against the Cavs.