Apr 15, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks center
John Henson(31) grabs a rebound against Boston Celtics center
Kelly Olynyk(41) in the second quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
This one hurts me. It really does. I’ve been a longtime John Henson supporter, but I’m also an avid Greg Monroe fan, and there’s a definite possibility that adding Moose to Milwaukee means Captain Hook has got to go. It’s kind of my thing to start Bucks trade rumors around here, so I’ve decided to make this one solely about Henson’s departure.
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The reason I think Henson might be on his way out isn’t because I don’t think he’s a good player. That’s actually the reason. The Bucks right now have four centers on the roster: Henson, Monroe, Miles Plumlee and Zaza Pachulia. Jason Kidd does not like playing two center lineups.
Total minutes of Bucks' big lineups last yr:
— Frank Madden (@fmaddenNBA) July 5, 2015
Henson/Plums 36 min
Henson/Zaza 31 min
Henson/Larry 4 min
Zaza/Plums 14 min
Zaza/Larry: 2 min
That means that the four of those guys will probably only have 48 minutes between them a game. If Monroe plays 30-35 minutes a game, that leaves 13-18 for everybody else. Although I believe Henson is better than Plumlee or Pachulia, he’s also more valuable. His value is wasted if he only plays 15 minutes a game, especially considering the Bucks have absolutely no forward depth.
Right now only Damien Inglis and Johnny O’Bryant are at the forward slots behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker. Inglis has potential but has never played an NBA minute, and JOB is just bad. Those two can not be relied on to be good rotation players for a full season.
Basically I believe the drop-off from Henson to Pachulia is less than the drop off from Giannis to Inglis, and certainly less than the massive drop from Jabari to JOB. Adding a better backup forward would make the team much more balanced.
So it’s smarter to deal Henson for a forward that isn’t terrible and then just use Zaza as a backup center, which is where he was supposed to play last season anyway. Anyway, enough logic. Let’s get to some Bucks trade rumors, as always aided by the ESPN Trade Machine.
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