Milwaukee Bucks: Bronson Koenig will reportedly sign as free agent

The Milwaukee Bucks look set to thrill local fans by bringing in former Wisconsin Badgers sharpshooter Bronson Koenig as a free agent signing.

Like most teams around the NBA, the Milwaukee Bucks’ work didn’t finish in the second round of last night’s draft. As teams around the NBA scrambled for undrafted free agents and potential Summer League or G-League additions, the Bucks picked up a local favorite.

According to multiple reports, former Wisconsin Badgers guard Bronson Koenig will reportedly sign with the Bucks as an undrafted free agent.

The news was first reported in the early hours of Friday morning by Mike Scotto of Basketball Insiders.

Bronson Koenig, Wisconsin's all-time 3-point leader, has agreed to join the Milwaukee Bucks, league sources told Basketball Insiders.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) June 23, 2017

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In the time since, Todd Sommerfeldt of the La Crosse Tribune has reported that Koenig will likely sign on one of the NBA’s new two-way contracts. Two-way contracts will effectively act as flex deals that will allow Koenig to split his time between the NBA with the Bucks and the G-League with the Wisconsin Herd.

As Sommerfeldt explained of the nature of Koenig’s probable deal:

"“Each team in the NBA receives two two-way contracts for players who are essentially their 16th and 17th on the roster. The player spends most of his time in the G-League — formerly the D-League — but can get called up to the NBA roster and move back and forth.They are available to any player with less than three years of service in the NBA, and players are paid by the G-League and earn more for each day they spend on the NBA roster.”"

The 22-year-old finished his time in college as the Badgers’ all-time leader in three-pointers made, and of course was a member of the Badgers’ squads who twice visited the Final Four.

Koenig’s ties to the state don’t just end with his impressive legacy at the University of Wisconsin, though, as he’s a La Crosse native who should have a deeper affinity for both the Bucks and Herd than most.

It was widely documented that Koenig rolled his ankle in a workout for the Bucks back on May 18, but the soundings from Milwaukee’s side were positive even from that day. At the time, Matt Velazquez of the Journal Sentinel quoted Koenig as saying:

"“I thought I was doing really well until I rolled my ankle a little bit,” said Koenig, who was standing with the use of crutches with a brace on his ankle. “It’s definitely frustrating, as is any injury, but I’ve been blessed my whole career to be pretty injury free.Especially it being my first workout it’s more frustrating, but I was playing well. Hopefully I proved myself a little bit to everybody and showed what I could do a little bit.”"

Our own Lukas Harkins looked at the possibility of some form of Koenig deal back when he profiled the former Badger in May, noting:

"“With Malcolm Brogdon and Matthew Dellavedova already on the roster as point guards, Koenig would not see much floor time if he was to be acquired by the Bucks. The point guard position might be a spot of weakness for the Bucks, but it is unlikely that Koenig is going to be the future at the position in Milwaukee.With that being said, however, he could be a valuable addition to both a Summer League roster and a D-League roster. Koenig has a lot of experience playing in big games from when he was in college and could help to develop some of the other youngsters that the Bucks have on their roster.”"

All of that still stands true, but while Koenig will have to work hard to make an impact on the Bucks, he has at least got the chance he was so desperately looking for.

Next: NBA Draft 2017 Prospect Watch: Bronson Koenig

A deal for Koenig is likely to be officially announced on July 1 when free agency opens up, and from there, the first chance to see him in Bucks colors would likely come at Summer League.

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