#Bucks get Jrue Holiday from Pelicans in Giannis push

The Milwaukee Bucks, who are attempting to persuade NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo to stay with them long term, reportedly added an All-Star point guard Monday night.

According to The Athletic and ESPN, the Bucks acquired Jrue Holiday from the Pelicans, sending guards Eric Bledsoe and George Hill to New Orleans along with three future first-round draft picks. The trade also features two future draft-pick swaps.

Holiday, 30, was selected as the 2020 NBA Teammate of the Year, capping a season in which he averaged 19.1 points, 6.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds.

Antetokounmpo is coming off his second consecutive MVP season and was also selected the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year for 2019-20. The 25-year-old Greek, who has one year left on his current contract, could sign a super-max contract extension worth between $220 million and $250 million over five years to remain with the Bucks.

He has hinted in the past that his willingness to remain in Milwaukee is directly tied to the franchise’s ability to consistently contend. Questions about his future grew after the team’s second-round exit to the Heat in five games inside the Orlando NBA bubble.

A first-round pick (17th overall) of the 76ers in 2009 out of UCLA, Holiday spent four years in Philadelphia before he was traded to New Orleans in July 2013. Holiday, an All-Star in his final season for the 76ers, has career averages of 15.9 points, 6.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 713 games (640 starts).

Bledsoe, 30, spent three seasons in Milwaukee, most recently averaging 14.9 points, 5.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds last season. He previously played for the Los Angeles Clippers (2010-11 to 2012-13) and the Phoenix Suns (2013-14 to 2017-18), and his career norms are 14.2 points, 4.8 assists and four rebounds per game.

Hill, 34, led the NBA with a 46 percent success rate from 3-point range last season, hitting 81 of 176 attempts. He averaged 9.4 points, 3.1 assists and three rebounds in 2019-20, leaving his career averages at 11.1 points, 3.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds. Hill has competed for the San Antonio Spurs (2008-09 to 2010-11), Indiana Pacers (2011-12 to 2015-16), Utah Jazz (2016-17), Sacramento Kings (2017-18), Cleveland Cavaliers (2017-18 to 2018-19) and Milwaukee.