With rosters needing to be finalized by this afternoon, teams are doing what they can to save that last little bit of cash as opposed to just cutting players that won’t make the team. The Bucks and Wizards found a way to do this by getting in a trade just before that deadline period.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Wizards will be trading away Jodie Meeks to the Bucks, but he won’t be staying in Milwaukee for long. The Bucks reportedly plan on immediately waiving Meeks. The Wizards will also send cash and a second round pick to Milwaukee as courtesy for paying out the rest of Meeks contract.
Wizards are trading guard Jodie Meeks and cash to the Bucks, league sources tell ESPN. Bucks will waive Meeks.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 15, 2018
Wizards are sending a future second-round pick to Bucks in deal too, league sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/OXxBgwE8vq
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 15, 2018
The Bucks can make this deal thanks to a trade exception they gained when trading away Greg Monroe. As a result, the deal doesn’t cost them too much actual money and they get a second-round pick out of the deal. This is a great use of assets and cap flexibility from Milwaukee. The Bucks also will finalize their roster today by waiving Tim Frazier. This guarantees a roster spot for Christian Wood according to Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The Bucks are waiving Tim Frazier and plan to have Christian Wood on the 15-man roster, per source. Wood will stay on his current deal, which is mostly non-guaranteeed but includes $100k guaranteed. There’s also a potential second, non-guaranteed season.
— Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) October 15, 2018
So how does this all work out for Meeks? Well, he’s currently set to serve a 19 game suspension for violating the NBA’s drug policy, but he can serve that on his next contract. Instead, he’ll get paid out the rest of this deal via the Bucks and will actually make a little bit more money when he signs a new contract than he would have had he just served the suspension with Milwaukee. Meeks has had some health issues over his career, but when he’s on the floor he’s a very capable 3-point shooter. He should be able to catch on to the end of a bench somewhere at some point this season even with the suspension looming over him.
