The Bucks are acquiring Kings impending restricted free agent Bogdan Bogdanovic in a sign-and-trade.
Or not?
Sam Amick of The Athletic:
More to come at @TheAthleticNBA, but an update here on the Bucks-Kings Bogdan Bogdanovic situation. pic.twitter.com/mN2GOaLoKJ
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) November 18, 2020
My suspicion: This is a masquerade to avoid tampering charges.
Free agency doesn’t open until Friday. It is impermissible for the Kings, let alone the Bucks, to talk new contract with Bogdanovic. The NBA is obviously turning a blind eye to some tampering. But this arrangement went above and beyond the typical early negotiations. It’s a slap in the face to the league’s purported effort to crack down on tampering.
Of course, other factors could actually derail the trade. So, maybe it won’t actually happen.
But earlier today, Milwaukee was proceeding as if the hard cap triggered by adding someone in a sign-and-trade would still be in effect.