Grading the trade deal that cost the Milwaukee Bucks their 2023 first-round pick

It was a deal that resulted into a humongous success for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Barring any last-minute deals, the Milwaukee Bucks will have to wait until the second round before they get to pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

The Bucks own the 58th selection, which will be the last pick after Chicago and New Orleans forfeited their second-round picks for violating free agency rules.

Milwaukee was supposed to own a first-round pick this year, something that could have helped the team infuse some young blood into its aging lineup.

Tucker to the Bucks

The Bucks, however, lost that first-round pick when they pulled off a two-team deal in 2021 with the Houston Rockets.

So who did the Bucks get in that deal? Did it benefit the Bucks?

The player that the Bucks got in that deal is the wide-bodied, defensive-minded P.J. Tucker.

It was last March 19, 2021, when the Rockets traded Tucker, along with Rodions Kurucs, to the Bucks in exchange for D. J. Augustin and D.J. Wilson. The two teams also exchanged draft picks, with Houston pushing back the 2022 first-round pick Milwaukee owed them to the unprotected 2023 draft.

While the Bucks are now feeling the pinch of losing this year’s first-round pick, the deal actually wasn’t bad, as Tucker made significant contributions when he came on board.

In fact, the Bucks won the NBA title in that year, with Tucker becoming one of the team's main weapons.

Tucker was at his best in the playoffs, and in that championship run, P.J.'s ability to defend the opposing teams’ main cogs helped the Bucks survive the Boston Celtics in the first round, the Brooklyn Nets in the semifinals and the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Worthy addition

In Game 6 of the East Finals, Tucker hit a crucial three-pointer that helped the Bucks pull off a 118-107 win and seal their first NBA Finals berth since 1974.

Milwaukee would go on to win the championship by beating the Phoenix Suns in the Finals, 4-2.

In that championship series, Tucker averaged 31.3 minutes and was good for 4.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.0 steals.

His primary contribution was guarding Phoenix’s top gun Devin Booker as well as Jae Crowder.

Tucker only played 43 games for the Bucks, but 23 of them came in the postseason.

Tucker’s tenure with the Bucks turned out to be a short but productive one, making the deal that cost the Bucks their 2023 first-round pick all worth it.