Where Does Tyler Ennis Fit In?

The Milwaukee Bucks have moved from having bad team problems (who the hell is going to start at center for the rest of the season?!) to good team problems, which is great, obviously. But problems are still problems, and Jason Kidd is going to have to deal with a few of them stemming from the new-found depth at point guard in Milwaukee.

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The most important of them, in my opinion, is what to do with young T-Dot, also known as Tyler Ennis. Ennis is far from an established NBA talent, but he has shown definite flashes of having the potential to be a very skilled pass-first point guard, much like former Buck Kendall Marshall.

Ennis’ Twitter game may never be as strong as K-Butter’s, but his on-the-court performances could end up earning him a starting job someday if he continues to progress and improve his game. The problem for Milwaukee is that he may not end up having the time to do much of anything on the court for the Bucks this season.

If last season was any indication, he’ll be behind Michael Carter-Williams, Jerryd Bayless and Greivis Vasquez from the jump, and that’s just the point guards in front of him. You’ve got to imagine Khris Middleton, O.J. Mayo and potentially even Rashad Vaughn will see minutes before Ennis does. That’s not leaving him very many minutes at all, which means the only developing he will be able to do is in the practice gym.

That’s not to say that it’s impossible for players to become better without gobs of playing time, but most of the time you won’t see a player improve much unless they’re seeing significant minutes somewhere, whether it be in the NBA, overseas or in the D-League.

If Milwaukee had their own D-League team that might be a great option for Ennis, but sadly right now the Bucks don’t have that option since the Indiana Pacers are purchasing the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, which is a D-League organization that was essentially shared between all NBA teams who didn’t have their own affiliate. It would be a lot easier if the Bucks joined the Toronto Raptors in starting their own minor league team.

Ennis has the potential to be valuable someday, but right now he’s still got some rough patches. He shot just 36.1 percent from the field and 27.9 percent from long-range, meaning his offensive game needs a ton of work. His defense was surprisingly solid in Milwaukee though, as shown by his defensive rating of 104.

But his distribution skills are what give fans (and some writers, like myself) the hope that Ennis could become something special in the Association. He averaged a solid 6.4 assists per 36 minutes in his rookie season, but it’s his two games playing extended minutes for the Bucks that gave me a glimpse of his true passing skills.

Rk	Date	GS	MP	FGA	FG%	3PA	3P%	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS	+/-
2	2015-03-14	1	36:19	14	.214	5	.200	4	11	2	0	3	2	7	-7
3	2015-04-15	0	27:01	13	.385	4	.250	3	8	1	0	4	1	11	-4

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/5/2015.

Ennis played at least 25 minutes in a game only twice for the Bucks. The first time was his sole start in 2015, when he played 36 minutes. He recorded eleven assists in that game, while adding four rebounds, two steals, seven points and just three turnovers. His scoring was poor, as expected, but every other aspect of his game was solid.

The other time he played extended minutes was the last game of the Bucks’ regular season, a meaningless contest for Milwaukee. Ennis dished eight assists in 27 minutes of action, while recording eleven points, three rebounds, a steal and four turnovers. Turnovers have been a problem for the young T-Dot, but you expect most rookies to have some kinks that need to be ironed out–Ennis is no exception.

Feb 25, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Tyler Ennis (11) passes the ball around Philadelphia 76ers forward Robert Covington (33) during the fourth quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Milwaukee won 104-88. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

The decision for Milwaukee is what do to with Ennis. Keeping him at the end of the bench for injury situations seems kind of pointless–you’d rather have a veteran player there who will be ready to step in when needed, not a young guy who strives for minutes. Plus I doubt Ennis would be very effective in such a limited role anyway.

So maybe trade him? I doubt the haul would be significant, but maybe as part of a package deal or to the right organization looking for more cheap young talent the Bucks could get some sort of return for Ennis and also open up a roster spot for another forward.

Sending him to the D-League would be a fun decision as well, if only to get to watch Ennis get extended minutes for the first time since he left Syracuse. But that’s not really an option considering the Bucks don’t have an affiliate down there.

Will sending Tyler Ennis somewhere else be one of the final roster moves the Bucks make this offseason? It very well could be. The organization may wait until training camp to do anything with Ennis, so they can evaluate how far his game has come from last season. I would be pretty surprised to see him remain with the Bucks if they don’t make any other deals involving sending away a guard or two, though.

Next: Examining The Milwaukee Bucks' Forward Depth

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