The Milwaukee Bucks officially said goodbye to veteran Pat Connaughton after trading him to Charlotte. The deal opens cap space for Myles Turner.
The Milwaukee Bucks officially traded Pat Connaughton to the Charlotte Hornets on June 7, formally ending his seven-year tenure with the Bucks.
In a statement released by the team, Bucks general manager Jon Horst said, in part, “Pat has been the ultimate teammate and a vital player on our championship core. He's given so much to our organization and the Milwaukee community, and we're grateful for his lasting contributions on and off the court. Thank you, Pat.”
Connaughton, 32, appeared in 73 playoff games with the Bucks, including a team-high 23 in the 2020-21 championship run and shot 44.1% from behind the 3-point line in the Bucks’ six-game NBA Finals victory over Phoenix.
He played in 440 games (66 starts) in Milwaukee after signing as a free agent from Portland in 2018, and averaged 6.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists.
The trading of Connaughton was one of a couple necessary transactions for the Bucks to sign free agent center Myles Turner with salary cap space.
Connaughton exercised his $9.4 million player option, and the Bucks packaged 2031 and 2032 second-round picks to the Hornets in exchange for Vasilije Micić.
It is the second time Micić had been traded this summer, as he originally was sent from Phoenix to Charlotte after the Suns picked up his $8.1 million team option.
The Bucks not only saved $1.3 million on the deal straight up, but it has been widely reported that Micić wants to return to Europe and give back a large portion of his salary to Milwaukee to allow the creation of additional cap space to sign Turner.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bucks officially trade 'ultimate teammate' Pat Connaughton to Hornets
Category: Basketball
