New Orleans Pelicans: How the Giannis contract will affect Pels’ draft picks
The Giannis Antetokounmpo extension could affect the New Orleans Pelicans’ future draft picks.
The New Orleans Pelicans moved franchise-icon Jrue Holiday to the Milwaukee Bucks in an offseason trade that brought back a haul.
Not only did the Pelicans get All-Defensive player Eric Bledsoe, but also a chest of future draft assets to be conveyed down the road.
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Yesterday it was announced via Shams Charania that Giannis signed a five-year supermax extension to stay with the Bucks:
Breaking: Giannis Antetokounmpo says he is signing a contract extension with the Milwaukee Bucks. The two-time MVP will sign a five-year, $228.2 million supermax extension with the franchise, the largest deal in NBA history, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 15, 2020
On one hand, this is good for the future of smaller market teams and the NBA, but on the other, it could be bad for the New Orleans Pelicans’ future draft picks.
New Orleans Pelicans: Giannis contract shouldn’t affect future Pelicans’ draft picks.
When news of the Giannis signing broke, Pelicans’ fans let out a collective sigh, as we were secretly hoping he would flee Milwaukee for greener pastures.
Why? The Pels have a load of future picks from the Bucks and if they don’t have Giannis, those could potentially be very valuable picks.
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Now that they have Giannis, those picks are all going to be in the high 20’s right? Not necessarily.
The Pelicans don’t start conveying the Bucks’ picks until 2024 (the right to swap), one year before Giannis’ new contract expires.
If the Bucks haven’t won a title by then, there is every chance that Giannis’ next contract will be with another team. By 2024 the Bucks could be ready to trade Giannis and bottom out.
Even if that is not the case, the Pelicans will have their pick in 2025, another swap in 2026 and another unprotected pick in 2027, when Giannis will either be gone or at least over 30-years-old.
Of course, he could still be very good and may stay with the Bucks forever, in which case all of those picks could lose value.
David Griffin gambled smartly, as he prepared for the eventuality that Giannis would stay in Milwaukee, nabbing picks that should be far enough out for it not to matter.
Giannis’ signing could help the Pels with Zion Williamson, and it keeps him out of the West without affecting the picks too much, so this couldn’t have worked out much better for New Orleans.
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