The Milwaukee Bucks won’t have a second-round selection in the 2022 NBA Draft after the NBA decided to penalize the team for a failed trade that involved shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic.
The decision comes after a recent investigation showed that the Bucks made contact with Bogdanovic and the player’s agent before the free-agency discussions were allowed, thus violating the league’s tampering rules.
The initial deal saw Milwaukee making a deal with the Sacramento Kings to acquire Bogdanovic in a sign-and-trade for Donte DiVincenzo, D.J. Wilson, and Ersan Ilyasova. However, the trade fell through several days later after the 28-year-old Serbian decided he wanted to explore free agency.
Since the Bucks were cooperative and there was no evidence that they made a formal contract offer to Bogdanovic, the franchise only lost their second-rounder instead of receiving a harsher penalty.
“We were intentional and fully compliant and cooperative with the NBA from the get,” said Milwaukee general manager Jon Horst in a statement. “The decision’s been made, and we’re moving on. We’re really excited about the season starting tomorrow, and we’ll kind of take it from there.”
Bogdan Bogdanovic ended up with the Atlanta Hawks, signing a four-year, $72 million sheet offer that the Kings declined to match.
