Every team’s front office has had its fair share of misses, but the Milwaukee Bucks trade for Greivis Vasquez back in 2015 looks like one of their biggest blunders in recent memory. Not only did Milwaukee acquire a player who would go on to play just 23 games for the team, but they also gave up microwave scorer Norman Powell and a future first-round draft pick, who would eventually become two-way star OG Anunoby.
Terrifying result
The result of the trade was what nightmares are made of for any Bucks fan. While Vasquez’s time on the team was short-lived due to injuries, Powell and Anunoby have become major contributors for their respective teams – the Los Angeles Clippers and the Toronto Raptors.
“The Bucks went with Vásquez, at the time a 28-year-old reserve with middling career averages (9.2 points and 4.9 assists). Injuries wrecked his 2015-16 season—the only one he spent in Milwaukee—but given his trajectory and projected role, he was never going to justify the cost paid to acquire him even if he had stayed healthy,” Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report wrote of the trade.
Key players
The Bucks can’t help but cringe at the thought of what could have been. Powell and Anunoby have since blossomed into two key players for their respective franchises. Powell has become a reliable contributor to the Clippers, averaging 17.2 points per game in three seasons while providing instant offense off the bench.
Anunoby, on the other hand, helped the Raptors win the NBA title in 2019 and has become one of the NBA’s most feared defenders. Last season saw the 6-foot-7 wingman win the steals title and earn a spot on the league’s All-Defensive second team.
More must-reads: