Bucks forfeit a pick for illegal discussion on Bogdan Bogdanovic trade

The Milwaukee Bucks have been punished after their Bogdan Bogdanovic pursuit. 

The Milwaukee Bucks got the offseason off to a strange start, as their pursuit of former Sacramento Kings wing Bogdan Bogdanovic originally led them to an agreement that would make Bogdanovic one of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s co-stars. However, the trade fell through, and Bogdanovic ended up with the Atlanta Hawks. The league has slapped Milwaukee’s wrist for their rule-breaking in pursuit of Bogdanovic.

The NBA found that the Bucks discussed a sign-and-trade with Bogdanovic before the league allowed such discussions to take place. As a result, Milwaukee has been stripped of a 2022 second-round pick.

Bogdan Bogdanovic would’ve been a great fit in Milwaukee

A 6-foot-6 shooting guard with handles, Bogdanovic averaged a career-high 15.1 points per game while shooting 37 percent on 3-point attempts during his third and final season in Sacramento. While Bogdanovic would’ve been a deadly scorer on the wing in Milwaukee, especially after the Jrue Holiday acquisition, he ended up with Trae Young and an Atlanta team that has a very good shot of finally getting back into the postseason.

While a second-round pick is not a stiff penalty, especially for a team like the Bucks that will be in the championship picture for years to come due to the Giannis extension, it’s at least an encouraging sign to see the NBA’s nebulous tampering rules finally enforced.

Bogdanovic, who Giannis clearly wanted in Milwaukee, would’ve been a good fit without truly breaking the bang, but Jon Horst apparently had to resort to some nefarious tactics in order to get this done. Milwaukee’s loss is Atlanta’s gain, and the Bucks will have to cross their fingers and hope that they didn’t blow their chance of drafting a second-round diamond in the rough.