New Bucks Signing Breaks Silence on Leaving Only Team He’s Known to Join Milwaukee

The Milwaukee Bucks have undergone quite a few changes this offseason, but for newly-acquired guard Cole Anthony, his move to the Bucks marks the biggest change in his professional career.

Anthony was traded from the Orlando Magic to the Memphis Grizzlies last month and subsequently agreed to a contract buyout with Memphis. He then inked a one-year deal with the Bucks and recently opened up to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel regarding his feelings about joining a new team.

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“I’ve literally said this to several people … I still feel like I’m on the Magic a little bit."

The No. 15 overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft has spent his entire career in Orlando thus far. Anthony also recalled being traded, bought out, and signing with a new team all in one week.

“I remember that whole week, it was just crazy,” Anthony said. “I’ve been here five years, haven’t played for another team, was drafted here, so it’s something for me that definitely is bittersweet and I’m going to miss it.”

Although Anthony is surely going to miss the only franchise he has ever known, he also touched on wanting to join a championship-caliber squad looking to once again make a deep playoff run.

“I look at it as a great opportunity to enter another team where they have a playoff pedigree and a championship pedigree,” Anthony said. “They’ve won a ‘chip there. I just want to get in there, contribute and do whatever I can for the team. I want to be a part of winning.”

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Anthony can certainly be a big part of the winning culture in Milwaukee. Across his five NBA seasons, the 25-year-old averaged 12.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.

Anthony's role shifted from the 2023-24 season to the 2024-25 campaign, resulting in fewer minutes played and points scored per game. However, his 35.3 percent 3-point shooting clip was the second-best of his career.

Leaving the only team one has ever known can be difficult, paired with learning a new scheme, having a new role, and overall a different environment at work each day, but Anthony appears ready and willing to find his way in Milwaukee and start proving it on the court.

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