Examining The Bucks’ Backup Point Guard Situation

Over the last couple of years, the Milwaukee Bucks have experienced quite a turnover in all areas of the team.

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While it’s refreshing to finally see some continuity in the upper levels of management, whether it’s the ownership, front office or coaching staff, the roster is still a bit of a question mark.

That isn’t to say the Bucks don’t have a core in place. Actually, the answer is quite the opposite.

On paper, because of the addition of big man Greg Monroe, the Bucks starting lineup could very well be the most complete lineup the team has had in a very long time.

However, certain circumstances, like forward Jabari Parker‘s uncertain timetable for returning to the court from injury, makes that a little less complete for the time being.

But in the interim, the Bucks certainly have plenty of depth going forward. But do they have too much depth, specifically with their point guards?

With the off-season acquisition of guard Greivis Vasquez, the team has five point guards as it currently stands (including Jorge Gutierrez, whose contract is non-guaranteed heading into training camp).

With Michael Carter-Williams undoubtedly the team’s starting point guard heading into next season, barring unforeseen circumstances, the team has quite the conundrum figuring out how to divvy up significant minutes for the backup players.

By bringing in Vasquez, especially for the asset the team traded away (a 2017 protected 1st rounder originally obtained from the Clippers), he seems the likeliest of the bunch to get a significant share of minutes.

Along with that, Vasquez is an upgrade over last year’s primary backup guard Jerryd Bayless as a distributor, as well as an outside shooter.

That obviously leads to many, if not all Bucks fans wondering what the future holds for not only Jerryd Bayless, but possibly also Tyler Ennis.

Many fans (including myself) have been quick to say that Bayless could be the odd man out, especially after a disappointing end to what started as a promising season.

But Bayless has spoken highly of his current tenure with the Bucks, as well as learning from a future hall-of-famer in coach Jason Kidd. He also happens to share the same agent as him so that could give you a sense of how he stands with the team.

As far as Ennis’ situation goes, after only playing in late game situations with the Suns before being a part of the MCW/Knight deadline deal, Ennis went through various ups and downs before being buried in the rotation late in the season in his first year as a pro.

But as a team that’s turning to their young core of players to start stepping up, giving up on Ennis would go against that way of thinking, who will be only 21 entering next season.

Sorting out this point guard logjam is virtually the same problem the team addressed a couple of weeks ago when they traded away veteran big man Zaza Pachulia to the Dallas Mavericks for a very small return.

While it’s quite possible that the team eventually decides to move on from any of their backup point guards via trade during the off-season, there’s a couple of reasons why the team might stand pat with their point guards entering the season.

For one, coach Jason Kidd’s tendency to play multiple point guards at the same time for significant minutes, as well as almost let everyone get minutes during a game, make it possible for the backup point guards to coexist, especially with the versatile Vasquez and Bayless.

To coincide with that, because of the aforementioned unknown timetable for Jabari Parker, it gives the team more of a reason to stay put with their guards and try to make it work in whatever way possible until Parker is able to return.

And arguably the biggest reason why it may benefit the Bucks to stick with what they have is to possibly wait until the trade deadline.

Injuries are inevitable in the NBA and if a possible contender loses a significant player, whether it’s a star or a highly productive role player, teams may come around to the Bucks to look for possible deals for any of the team’s backup guards for a significant return.

For example, we saw a fringe playoff contender like the Oklahoma City Thunder give up a first round draft pick for role players during this past year’s trade deadline just to make a late playoff push.

Obviously this is all speculation and there’s a lot more off-season left for the team to stay where they’re at or make a deal.

However, trying to sort out this backup point guard situation could be a good problem for the team to have, and could eventually give the team a possible asset going forward.

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