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We wondered whether Milwaukee was going to manage to add a little more guard depth to their rotation and how’d they’d maneuver around the number of non-guaranteed guys on the roster. Well...
Memphis is trading guard Grayson Allen to Milwaukee for Sam Merrill and two future second-round picks, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 6, 2021
Milwaukee is acquiring Allen with $4.9M DJ Augustin trade exception.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) August 6, 2021
Allen is on a $4.1M expiring contract and is rookie extension eligible.
Merrill has $500K in guaranteed money, with the balance of his $1.5M contract guaranteed on 8/8. https://t.co/D1Tf5ZUk7J
Milwaukee ownership is showing that they are willing to make a financial commitment with this roster.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) August 6, 2021
Luxury tax penalty will increase from $36M to $44M with this trade.
Milwaukee is right at $200M in salary and luxury tax. https://t.co/0R3g5vuKux
As I write it is unclear which years those future second rounds apply to (might make the draft night trade down sensible now).
Allen, who featured in 50 games for Memphis last year, averaged 10.6 points (on .418/.391/.868 splits), 3.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. He’ll likely slot into the guard rotation off the bench and does indeed add some slightly proven depth.
The roster currently sits at 14 players, and with Merrill moved on to other pastures there is no need for Milwaukee to cut any of it’s currently non-guaranteed players to fit into roster rules.
So, there you have it folks. For all intents and purposes, it appears the main roster is set barring any further trades. If we see more details on this trade, we’ll update the post.
Onto the title defense!