NBA Draft just put Tennessee’s Nate Ament smack dab in the middle of the NBA’s biggest mega-trade in years
The former Vol found himself as a piece one of of sports’ biggest stories.
Tennessee Vols star Nate Ament was always going to be a first round pick; it was just a matter of where the talented freshman would find himself going on Tuesday night.
Where he ended up was landing squarely in the middle of one of the storylines of the entire sports world this week — as part of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat.
The Heat acquired the two-time NBA MVP, 2021 NBA Finals MVP, and ten-time All-Star late on Monday night, along with veteran Bobby Porter, for Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks (including pick No. 13 on Tuesday night), one pick swap and one second-round pick.
Guess who was pick No. 13? Yep, Ament.
Nate Ament taken by Bucks with pick (No. 13) included in Giannis Antetokounmpo trade with Miami Heat
Because the trade hasn’t been officially announced yet, the pick was made by the Heat at No. 13. However, NBA commissioner Adam Silver shortly after the pick announced that the pick of Ament was traded by Miami to Milwaukee. So there you go, for those hanging on technicalities.
As a first round pick, there will be no shortage of pressure on Ament and fellow first round pick in Arizona guard Brayden Burries, who the Bucks took at No. 10 overall. With Antetokounmpo out of town, the Bucks are in full rebuild mode, and they’ll be looking to a new crop of young talent to try to eventually bring Milwaukee back up to the pinnacle of the sport.
Nate Ament has Tennessee mega-donor Jimmy Haslam to thank in part for coming to Milwaukee
Ament has Tennessee mega-donor and Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam to thank in part for coming to Milwaukee. The Bucks spurned the Celtics’ offer centered around All-Star Jaylen Brown in favor of Miami’s offer. Haslam, according to Yahoo! Sports NBA writer Kevin O’Connor, was a “driving force” in rejecting the Celtics’ offer.
We’ll see how things unfold around Ament in Milwaukee, but opportunity certainly seems there for the former Tennessee standout to get an early opportunity at making a name for himself in the league.