Milwaukee Bucks Should Re-Sign Miles Plumlee
By Dan Larsen
Given his emergence as a solid contributor after the All-Star break, Miles Plumlee should be re-signed by the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Milwaukee Bucks face some major decisions this off-season regarding player personnel. Their core three players of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jabari Parker are locks to return next season. However, outside of these three, the Bucks face the prospect of a major roster overhaul.
Heading into the off-season, the Bucks have a variety of players reaching free agency. Jerryd Bayless, O.J. Mayo, and Greivis Vasquez are among those who will be unrestricted free agents this summer.
In addition to this. Miles Plumlee is a restricted free agent, giving the Bucks the power to match any potential offers for him.
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The Bucks are in need of a major reconstruction of their supporting cast. However, Miles Plumlee deserves to be one of the few players returning to this team next season.
Plumlee’s contributions were minimal early in his Bucks tenure. Plumlee had few, if any chances to prove he actually belonged on the team, and was often relegated to a handful of minutes every few games when the outcome was long decided.
Through the first 56 games this season, Plumlee played in just 33 games, seeing 9.5 minutes per game when he was given the chance. His numbers were solid, posting 3.0 points, 2.5 boards and 0.7 blocks per game. However, his opportunities to contribute were few and far between, and he had his fair share of sub-par performances, particularly earlier in the season when was constantly getting in foul trouble.
Just before the All-Star Break, however, Plumlee finally got a chance to showcase his talent. He began to get solid blocks of minutes for the first time, playing 15 minutes or more on almost a nightly basis. In addition, Plumlee went from being a fringe role-player to the starting line-up, playing alongside the Bucks core three.
This move paid immediate dividends.
First, Plumlee was a more natural fit with the Bucks core three as he didn’t need the ball in his hands to contribute.
With Greg Monroe in the line-up, the Bucks needed to feed him the ball in the low-post for him to be most effective. Doing this, however, took the ball out of the hands of Antetokounmpo and Middleton, the two most creative players on the team, and also severely restricted Jabari Parker’s ability to score.
Plumlee, however, was much more effective than Monroe at setting screens, and positioning himself off the ball to give more space for Antetokounmpo and Parker to drive while also remaining in effective position to rebound any potential misses.
He also demonstrated a solid ability to time his cuts. Since defenders needed to double or triple team Antetokounmpo or Parker because of the threat they pose when they have the ball, Plumlee was often forgotten about, being left unguarded about 6-8 feet from the basket. His explosiveness and ability to time his cuts allowed him to be much more effective at back-door cuts than Monroe, often posterizing panicking defenders who had lost track of him.
On the other end of the floor, Plumlee contributed in multiple ways. First, he was an effective team rebounder. His above average leaping ability, footwork, and generally good positioning allowed him to collect many missed shots.
He was also much effective at rotating and blocking shots in comparison to Monroe.
Plumlee picked up his overall numbers significantly. Post All-Star Break, Plumlee, in 19.9 minutes per game, averaged 7.7 points, 5.3 boards, and nearly one block per game. In addition, his scoring was very efficient, going 60.8% on over five attempts per game.
To put Plumlee’s contributions in perspective, the team’s most effective line-up this season involved Miles Plumlee playing with the starting five. It may have been a relatively small sample size, but the Bucks were a much better team with Plumlee on the court, both to the eye, and statistically.
Plumlee possesses the skill-set you want to see from your rotation big. He’s respectable defensively, can rebound, and is very efficient as a scorer. In addition, he doesn’t need the ball in his hands to contribute, something that makes him a much more natural fit with this team than someone like Greg Monroe.
The problem facing the Bucks, however, is the money they already have tied up in their front court.
It was just a few months ago that the Bucks re-signed John Henson to a four year, 44 million dollar deal. With significant increases in the cap coming this season and next, that would take up around 10% of the Bucks total cap space, about equivalent to a $5-6 million dollar deal under the current salary cap.
However, his salary may make him easily expendable. Henson is the team’s best rim protector when he’s healthy, and he’s also a very respectable rotation defender. However, his offensive skill set isn’t any better than Plumlee’s and his ability to rebound is significantly behind Plumlee’s.
Greg Monroe is also commanding a significant amount of the cap after signing a max deal this past summer. Perhaps more than anyone else, Monroe’s long-term future on this team is in a great deal of question.
His skill set can still be useful, particularly if he was used as a sixth man, because he would bring a new dimension of scoring to the team and solid rebounding on both ends of the floor.
His defense, however, and his overall fit next to Parker, make him easily expendable.
Salary wise, Plumlee will likely present a bargain. His contributions at the end of the season were meaningful. However, it’s unlikely that it’s earned him an eight figure salary next season.
Based on the increase in the cap, and his overall contributions to the team, Plumlee will likely command a 2-3 year contract that will bring him close to $8 million dollars per year. This could be a cost effective option for the Bucks as their rotation big off the bench.
Trading one of Henson and Monroe, however, is needed to make room, both cap wise and roster wise. The Bucks would be unwise to commit over 30% of their salary cap to three centers, especially in a league that’s trending smaller and more athletic.
Next: Milwaukee Bucks: Will John Henson Ever Be A Starter?
Plumlee fits the bill as the type of effective rotation big that you want in today’s NBA. Given his significant improvement on the court to end the season, he more than deserves to come back next season.