Round and round the transaction wheel goes!
The ending of an era for the Milwaukee Bucks continues apace as some of the few remaining members of the title-winning team depart. Now, it’s Pat Connaughton’s turn. He has been traded to the Charlotte Hornets alongside Milwaukee’s 2031 and 2032 second-round picks in exchange for Vasilije Micic (per ESPN’s Shams Charania).
Pat is a member of that special group of role players acquired early in GM Jon Horst’s tenure at the helm who ultimately came (extremely) good for the Bucks when it mattered most. Having begun his career with the Trail Blazers, he arrived in Milwaukee as an upside bet on a solid role player. That gamble turned out extremely well for the Bucks.
Connaughton appeared in 440 regular season games as a Buck (and 73 playoff games) over the course of seven seasons, ingratiating himself as a sort of do-it-all guard extraordinaire. His patented fly-by defense in the early seasons was complimented by reliable distance shooting, a calm head in hectic circumstances, and a knack for hustle/connective plays that are hard to measure, but often prove the difference between winning and losing at the highest levels.
As a crowning achievement, he averaged 30.0 minutes a game during Milwaukee’s Finals victory over the Phoenix Suns, registering 9.2 points (.475/.441/.500), 5.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in a masterclass of a glue guy performance when it counted most.
He has seen a drop in his role and playing time as he entered his 30s, going down to just 14.7 minutes in 41 games last year under Doc Rivers. With the (expected) picking up of his $9.4 million player option the other day and the overall need to slash payroll somewhere, Connaughton was an obvious trade target. Thus, his run with Milwaukee comes to a close in this deal which will see the Bucks sending a pair of future second-round picks to sweeten things for Charlotte.
In exchange, the Bucks will get back Vasilije Micic, a 31 year-old Serbian guard. Micic has been on the move a bunch the past few days, having gone from the Phoenix Suns to the Hornets in the Mark Williams deal. He is set to earn $8.1 million on a team option that was picked up back on June 29th—although rumblings indicate that Micic is likely to go back to Europe this summer which would require a buyout agreement with the Bucks. An agreement there would free up more space for Milwaukee and a roster spot to boot.
Wishing Pat all the best. The Bucks don’t win that title without him. It is a serious credit to him as a player that he raised his game to that level when called upon.