Should the Milwaukee Bucks Pursue Festus Ezeli?

It’s no surprise that the Milwaukee Bucks are looking for an upgrade at center. With Festus Ezeli becoming a restricted free agent this offseason, should he be a target for the Bucks?

This is always one of my favorite times of the NBA season. Of course, I’d prefer if my Milwaukee Bucks were still playing instead of cleaning out their lockers, but it’s still an exciting time for the franchise. Soon, free agency and the draft will be upon us, opportunities for the Bucks to fix some of the holes in their lineup.

Quite literally, the biggest hole in their lineup is at the center position. Many a Bucks fan have lamented the loss of Zaza Pachulia and the subsequent drop from a top tier defense. To the Bucks credit, at the beginning of the season their defense was really bad, but they actually improved as the season went on. Improvement aside, it still ended up being a below average defense and that’s simply not acceptable.

Specifically looking at free agency in regards to the center position, there will be a few options for the Bucks this offseason. One of the centers with the most buzz and intrigue is the Golden State Warriors’ Festus Ezeli.

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Although Festus will be entering his fifth season in 2016-17, there’s still a lot of unknown with him. He’s yet to average as much as 17 minutes per game, as he’s still the second string center on the Warriors. He also has yet to play in all 82 games of any one season.

Still, Ezeli will be a highly sought after player. First of all, he looks the part at 6’11” and 255 lbs. Secondly, there is a basis for optimism when we take a look at his per 36 numbers. A legitimate rim protector that could conceivably average a double-double is someone that will be very enticing to teams league wide.

Would he make sense on the Bucks? I think he’s exactly the type of center that the Bucks need. He’s a defense first center that won’t require a lot of touches on offense and that’s a good thing with the Bucks big three of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker and Khris Middleton. Also, he’s great at crashing the boards, (a big need for the Bucks), and setting screens.

Style wise, he fits the Bucks just fine, but as I said at the top, he is a restricted free agent. What kind of money would it take to get Festus in Milwaukee? For starters, I’ll defer to Zach Lowe:

"Don’t laugh when the Warriors re-sign Ezeli, participant in just 124 regular-season games over three injury-riddled seasons, to something like a four-year, $40 million extension this fall. Ezeli is an explosive leaper who protects the rim on defense, and his stone hands have softened just enough that he can at least catch the ball and dunk it when he’s wide open — and cram down offensive rebounds."

I agree that $10 million per year is a good number for Festus, but it would be safe to assume that Golden State would match such an offer. So what would it take to really scare Golden State out of matching an offer? I’m thinking it would have to be near $15 million per year. Is Festus worth that? Honestly, I’m not sure.

That’s the tricky thing with restricted free agents from other teams. You have to take a chance and offer more than they might be worth, unless the team that holds their rights doesn’t value them and I really don’t get that impression from the Warriors.

So let’s assume it’s $15 million per year. In that case, the Bucks would have to make at least one big move, trading Greg Monroe. I think that’s doable and it would become a necessity as the Bucks are paying John Henson $9.5 million next season and whatever they’ll pay Miles Plumlee if they bring him back, (for the record, I hope that they do).

Being a restricted free agent, Festus finds himself in a favorable position. Would he leave the Warriors? If I was in his position, I don’t know that I would. That’s not an insult to the Milwaukee Bucks, but consider for a moment the situation that he would be leaving.

He finds himself as a core part of the best team in the league. What the Warriors front office has done is amass an embarrassment of riches. This team not only has a window for future championships, they have that window wide open. Would Ezeli leave that?

Again, I think that the Warriors value him. All it might take is for them to say something to the effect of, ‘You are our starting center of the very near future. Give us another year or two at most with Andrew Bogut starting and then you take over.’ That loyalty and the success that they have had, and very well might continue to have, could be enough to keep him with the Warriors.

Will Festus be a Buck next season? I don’t think so. While he’s the type of the center that the Bucks need, I think the Bucks would have to spend too much and Festus has too many reasons to stay. If you listened to the last episode of our Win In 6 Podcast, (which if you’re not subscribed to it, get on it), Adam McGee threw out a name that I really like: Ian Mahinmi.

Ian could still find himself flying somewhat under the radar, even though he’s had a really nice season for Indiana. He’s that same type of center that does what the Bucks need and won’t demand a lot of touches on offense. He’s the guy I want the Bucks to pursue.

Next: Win In 6 Podcast #51: Exit Interviews And Draft Decisions

Whether it’s Festus, Ian or some other center with a cool first name, the Bucks need to address the position either in free agency or the draft. Here’s hoping that they will.