Milwaukee Bucks Acquire P.J. Tucker and Rodions Kurucs from Houston Rockets

MILWAUKEE (March 19, 2021) – The Milwaukee Bucks have acquired forward P.J. Tucker and forward Rodions Kurucs from the Houston Rockets in exchange for guard D.J. Augustin and forward D.J. Wilson. The Bucks were also returned their own 2022 first round draft pick and a Houston 2021 second round draft pick in exchange for Milwaukee’s 2021 and 2023 first round draft picks to complete the trade.

“P.J. Tucker checks all the boxes,” said Bucks General Manager Jon Horst. “He is a great teammate who brings a veteran presence with playoff experience. P.J.’s a versatile, high-IQ defender, and on the offensive end he plays with discipline, is unselfish, and spaces the court with his ability to knock down the three.

“Rodions is a talented, young player we feel will benefit from Coach Bud’s system that emphasizes player development and building good habits. Both players are highly competitive, and we welcome them to our family.”

Tucker, a 6-5, 245-pound forward, is in his 10th NBA season and holds career averages of 7.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.2 steals in 686 career games (510 starts) with Toronto, Phoenix and Houston. He’s a career 35.9 percent shooter from three and has led the league in made corner three-pointers each of the last three seasons. Additionally, Tucker has received multiple NBA All-Defensive team votes in six of the last seven seasons. This season with the Rockets, he averaged 4.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 32 games (all starts).

Originally selected by the Raptors with the 35th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft out of Texas, Tucker has also played in 50 playoff games throughout his career (41 starts), all coming in the last four seasons where he’s advanced to the Conference Semifinals each year. In postseason action, Tucker is putting up 8.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from three.

A 6-9, 230-pound forward from Latvia, Rodions Kurucs (RO-dee-ahns KOO-rootz) is in his third season in the NBA. He played the first 115 games of his career with the Brooklyn Nets, who selected him with the 40th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, before he was traded to the Rockets on Jan. 13 of this year. The 23-year-old currently holds career NBA averages of 6.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game while shooting 44.2 percent from the field.

Augustin signed with the Bucks prior to the start of the 2020-21 season and averaged 6.1 points, 3.0 assists and 1.4 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per game with Milwaukee this season.
Wilson, who was selected by the Bucks with the 17th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, appeared in 119 games (4 starts) with Milwaukee over the last four seasons and averaged 4.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game.

“We want to thank both D.J. Augustin and D.J. Wilson for their contributions to the Bucks organization,” Horst added. “We wish them well as they continue on in their NBA careers.”
Milwaukee’s roster stands at 15 players.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.