BUCKS SIGN-&-TRADE JENNINGS FOR DETROIT TRIO
The Detroit Pistons acquired point guard Brandon Jennings from the Milwaukee Bucks for combo guard Brandon Knight, swingman Khris Middleton, and center Viacheslav Kravtsov.
What does it give the Detroit Pistons
This is an interesting, gutsy, and somewhat risky deal by the Pistons. In Jennings they get a very productive scorer and playmaker with stellar talent, but one with some notable holes in his game. To wit, Jennings has a career field goal percentage of .394, an issue he'll need to address if he's going to take himself and the Pistons to the next level. Then again, the Pistons have been looking for an answer at point guard for a few years now, and clearly they believe they finally have a star at the point Jennings. Several reports say he'll sign with Detroit as a restricted free agent for three years at $8 million per season (or more).
What does it give the Milwaukee Bucks
Earlier this off-season the Bucks tried to sign point guard {P Jeff Teague} away from the Hawks, so the writing has been on the wall for awhile now that they're looking past Jennings as their star point guard. They get a solid replacement in Knight, who may have as much upside as Jennings but needs to play more of a point guard's game. Middleton is an athletic role player, while Kravtsov has some talent but needs more playing time to show it. All in all, Milwaukee gets some solid pieces in return here for Jennings, a player they seemed reluctant to pay a big long-term salary to.
Fantasy impact
Jennings should produce roughly as much in Detroit as he did in Milwaukee--that is, good point and assist totals with a low field goal percentage and not many rebounds. Perhaps playing with veteran combo guard {P Chauncey Billups} will help Jennings shore up his game and reach his impressive potential. For the Bucks, Knight gets a fresh start after struggling at times in Detroit's rotation but he needs to show he can excel as a starting NBA point guard full-time. If he stumbles, look for vet {P Luke Ridnour} to run the offense for Milwaukee. Middleton and Kravtsov won't likely play much for their new team, so their fantasy fortunes stay more or less the same.
