The Milwaukee Bucks picked up an additional lottery pick when they traded superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat. With those selections, Milwaukee took two freshmen: Arizona's Brayden Burries (No. 10) and Tennessee's Nate Ament (No. 13).
Nothing against the selections themselves. Still, it does hint at a long-term rebuilding approach for Milwaukee. Ament, in particular, was viewed as a raw prospect who could be a multi-year project, with the bet that his skill set would catch up to his positional size.
This directly benefits the Portland Trail Blazers, who have the Bucks' first-round swaps in 2028 and 2030, as well as their first-round selection in 2029.
Bucks picks continue to increase in value for the Blazers
Except for the hiring of head coach Micah Nori, Portland hasn't made a single move yet this offseason. They find themselves without a draft pick thanks to the Larry Nance Jr. trade that backfired, conveying their lottery-protected first-round pick to the Chicago Bulls (which turned into Texas guard Dailyn Swain).
Considering how closely tied their future is to Milwaukee's, with GM Joe Cronin's bold bet against the Bucks' roster, this offseason is already off to a good start. The Bucks didn't even get their own picks back from the Blazers, yet are seemingly embracing a rebuild anyway.
It's not quite as exciting given the NBA's lottery reform and the drastically changing odds, but perhaps that's what made Milwaukee feel comfortable taking that timeline approach in the first place.
Portland may have missed out on the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, but they were wise to sit out playing the facilitator role with the Miami Heat. It would be one thing had they turned those future picks into an established star like Jaylen Brown if Giannis landed in Boston. But the Blazers have serious leverage in those picks that they need to continue being highly selective about giving back to the Bucks.
Burries is a great prospect and likely should've gone earlier due to his two-way impact and well-rounded game. Ament is a worthwhile flier for a team that can afford to be patient with his development, hoping that his up-and-down rookie campaign was due to injury.
These picks make perfect sense in a vacuum, but they do raise questions about why Milwaukee didn't first get its picks back before embracing this timeline. That's why we ultimately thought it was in their best interest to take the Celtics package, flipping Brown to Portland to regain control over their own draft future.
But, as has been the case ever since Cronin shipped Lillard to Milwaukee in 2023, every questionable move made by the Bucks front office is the Blazers' gain. These picks could potentially singlehandedly turn Portland into contenders, and the developmental lottery picks they just took (Ament in particular) make that an increasingly likely outcome.
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