It turns out that Cole Anthony will be staying put in the Eastern Conference, after all.
Anthony, 25, was dealt to Memphis — along with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, four unprotected first-round picks and one first-round pick swap — by the Orlando Magic earlier in the off-season in exchange for Desmond Bane.
The 15th overall pick in the 2020 draft spent his first five seasons with the Magic, averaging 12.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists through 320 games. According to ESPN, Anthony has ranked in the top five in total points and assists off the bench the last three seasons.
His role with Orlando had diminished, however, after the ascension of fellow guards Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black. Anthony averaged career lows in points (9.4), rebounds (3.0), minutes (18.4) and field goal attempts (8.1) per game through 67 appearances (22 starts) in 2024-25.
With the Grizzlies’ guard rotation already packed with players like Ja Morant, Scotty Pippen Jr. and Jaylen Wells, minutes were likely going to be hard to come by in Memphis as well.
Anthony was set to enter Year 2 of a three-year, $39.1 million deal, owed $13.1 million over the next two seasons, with 2026-27 being a club option (per Spotrac).
Instead, the University of North Carolina product now prepares to join a Bucks group in desperate need of a lead ball-handler after Damian Lillard went down with an Achilles injury in the 2025 playoffs and was subsequently waived. And while Milwaukee did land a big-name free agent in Myles Turner, the stretch big offers little in the playmaking department.
Anthony will presumably take on some of that responsibility next to soon-to-be third-year guard Ryan Rollings, whom the Bucks re-signed this off-season.
