The Milwaukee Bucks are still in the business of finding Giannis Antetokounmpo a new home, but they're looking for the perfect package in return. They're looking for young assets or a load of picks, but the latter might be hard to do now with the latest lottery changes. The new format gives the fourth-through-10th-worst records in the league with an equal 8.1% shot at winning the No. 1 overall pick, and it also involves almost half of the league.
For a team that's looking to have a solid chance at the No. 1 pick, they may not be willing to trade those assets, which could leave the Bucks in a tough situation, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer.
“The new lottery, for starters, is expected to feature 16 separate drawings for the top 16 picks,” Fischer wrote. “More than half of the league's 30 teams will be participating in that crapshoot. That fact alone could make it harder to convince teams to surrender future first-rounders, since teams will naturally be eager to keep hold of picks that enable them take their chances in such enticing conditions.
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“The Bucks, meanwhile, surely understand that — should Antetokounmpo ultimately move on — his next team is likely going to be too good to land in lottery territory … even expanded-to-16-teams lottery territory. The new system thus might leave non-lottery picks with less appeal than ever before.”
The Pacers just went through something similar in this past lottery, where they traded their top-four protected first-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers for Ivica Zubac. Unfortunately for them, it landed at No. 5, which means they won't have a pick this season.
That could lead many teams to now have the mindset of keeping their picks, which will make it harder to negotiate trades. If that's the case, the Bucks might be in some trouble trying to trade Antetokounmpo.
The Milwaukee Bucks are still in the business of finding Giannis Antetokounmpo a new home, but they're looking for the perfect package in return. They're looking for young assets or a load of picks, but the latter might be hard to do now with the latest lottery changes. The new format gives the fourth-through-10th-worst records in the league with an equal 8.