The Milwaukee Bucks got their man. In exchange for five second-round picks, veteran forward Jae Crowder will be rerouted from the Brooklyn Nets to the Bucks, as first reported by The Athletic's Shams Charania.
This is a three-way trade that could be folded into the Kevin Durant blockbuster, which would mean that Crowder would never technically become a Net. The Bucks will send three second-round picks, wing Jordan Nwora, big man Serge Ibaka and George Hill to the Indiana Pacers, and they will send two second-round picks to the Nets, according to ESPN. Indiana will reportedly cut center Goga Bitadze to facilitate the deal.
Crowder, 32, did not play a single game for the Phoenix Suns this season. He was shelved after the two sides could not agree on a contract extension, and he has been linked to the Bucks in trade rumors the entire time. Evidently, he is excited about this long-discussed partnership coming to fruition:
414 BUCKSNATION X MUNATION ITS TIME TO WORK.!!! IM GLAD TO BE BACK HOME.!! 🙏🏾🙏🏾 https://t.co/B9703s4aMR
— JAE CROWDER (@CJC9BOSS) February 9, 2023
The move will give Milwaukee some defensive versatility and toughness in the frontcourt. Crowder will likely be asked to play a similar role to the one that PJ Tucker played in Milwaukee a couple of seasons ago. Due to the timing and the fact he'll be playing power forward, this is reminiscent of the Bucks' trade-deadline deal in 2019: four second-round picks for Nikola Mirotic.
Brooklyn's roster is overflowing with younger, similarly versatile forwards, so this is not a surprise. The two second-round picks are worth more to the Nets than Crowder is.
For Indiana, this is not about reuniting with Hill or hoping that Ibaka will be rejuvenated. (Ibaka will be waived, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.) Milwaukee needed someone to take on the contracts that Brooklyn didn't want, and Indiana just happened to be capable of doing it. The Pacers will get a look at Nwora on the cheap (he's owed $3 million next season), and they'll get three picks for helping the Bucks out.
The five second-round picks the Bucks are moving, according to The Athletic's Eric Nehm: 2023 (the more favorable of their own and the one they are owed*), 2024 (their own), 2025 (Indiana's), 2028 (their own), 2029 (their own).
*Milwaukee is owed a 2023 second-round pick from Golden State or Cleveland, whichever is least favorable.
