CLEVELAND _ The Milwaukee Bucks made a major move Tuesday, sending center Greg Monroe, a first-round pick and a second-round pick to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for 6-foot-1 point guard Eric Bledsoe, league sources confirmed to the Journal Sentinel. The story was first reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe.
The trade has not yet been finalized or officially announced by the NBA. According to league sources, the picks involved in the proposed deal are both of Milwaukee's 2018 draft picks, with the first-round pick holding "unique" protections. The second-round pick is protected between pick Nos. 31-47.
Per Wojnarowski, those unique protections of the first-round pick begin in 2018, when Suns would get the Bucks' pick if it falls between 11 and 16. This means the Bucks will keep their pick if they miss the playoffs and get a top 10 pick or if they make the playoffs and have one of the top 14 records in the NBA, which would slot them to pick between 17 and 30.
If Milwaukee keeps its pick in 2018, Phoenix will get it in 2019 if it falls between 4 and 16. In 2020, the Bucks' pick is only top-7 protected. If the Bucks keep their pick in each of those three seasons, it would become unprotected in 2021.
Monroe, 27, has been out since Oct. 26 with a left calf strain. He is on an expiring contract making $17.9 million this season. Bledsoe has two years remaining on his deal, making $14.5 million this season and $15 million next season.
After being away from the team during its recent road trip to Charlotte and Detroit, Monroe was on hand for shootaround at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday morning. He left the session early, following Bucks general manager Jon Horst to a private room away from the court. Monroe returned to the floor as the team was wrapping up its practice ahead of Tuesday's 6 p.m. game against the Cavaliers.
Sitting on the sideline, Monroe shook hands with assistant coach Greg Foster and former Bucks all-star and FOX Sports Wisconsin analyst Vin Baker, but respectfully declined comment when approached by the Journal Sentinel.
Khris Middleton, who has played with Monroe the longest going back to their shared time in Detroit during the 2012-13 season, called Monroe his brother as he discussed the bond they have shared over the years.
"It's always sad to see a teammate go if he goes, if it goes through," Middleton said. "We'll welcome Eric in with open arms if he can help us win ball games. ...
"(Monroe's) a great teammate. I've got nothing bad to say about him. He knows how to play the game, he's an unselfish player and wants to win. He's also one of my close friends off the court, so it's always sad to see your brother go."
Monroe averaged 13.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists during his 165 games with the Bucks since joining the team as a splashy free-agent signing in 2015. Last season, he shifted to the sixth-man role after starting for most of his career and provided the Bucks with a reliable bench scoring option. That was a role he was expected to reprise this season, with some NBA analysts projecting he could be a top contender for the league's sixth-man of the year award.
"Moose is a big part of the team," coach Jason Kidd said Tuesday, though he declined to discuss the trade being it was not yet official. "We asked him to come off the bench and he's done that (after) being a starter his whole career, sacrificing for the team. He means a lot to us. With all the speculation of what's happening, we're going to have to make an adjustment losing a big if that's the case."
One option for the Bucks to supplement their frontcourt of John Henson and Thon Maker will be taking a look at two-way player Joel Bolomboy, a 6-foot-9 forward who had 21 points and nine rebounds in the Wisconsin Herd's inaugural G League game Monday night, a 115-113 win over the Rio Grande Vipers. The Bucks can call up Bolomboy for up to 45 days as part of the two-way agreement. Milwaukee could theoretically also try lineups with 6-foot-11 star Giannis Antetokounmpo at center, something the team has experimented with in the past.
The Monroe-Bledsoe trade would also give Milwaukee more room under the luxury tax, opening the opportunity for the Bucks to acquire a third center. The Bucks have multiple ways to bring a third center onto the full-time roster, including a player-for-player trade or by potentially waiving guard DeAndre Liggins, who is on a non-guaranteed minimum contract that will become guaranteed if he is not waived by the NBA's deadline of Jan. 7.
The Bucks have long been a possible destination for Bledsoe, with the team being interested in his defensive abilities as well as his skills as a scorer and creator on offense. Bledsoe has been the talk of the trade market since Oct. 22 when he tweeted "I Dont wanna be here." The next day, Suns GM Ryan McDonough sent Bledsoe home indefinitely as the team looked for a potential trade partner for their disgruntled guard.
Bledsoe has averaged 18.8 points, 6.0 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals over 224 games since joining the Suns in 2013 in the three-team trade that included the Bucks sending J.J. Redick to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Last season, he averaged a career-high 21.1 points and 6.3 assists per game before being shut down for the final month of the season with left knee soreness. The announcement came with Phoenix out of contention and following a season in which Bledsoe shouldered a major load for the Suns while missing just one game due to injury.
Gary Payton II, one of the Bucks' two-way players, is with the team in Cleveland for Tuesday's game against the Cavaliers. Provided the trade goes through, Bledsoe is not expected to join the team until it reaches San Antonio on Wednesday ahead of its game against the Spurs on Friday.
