Although they still have time to make some more moves, how does each position on the Milwaukee Bucks depth chart look so far?
The Milwaukee Bucks offseason is coming to a close, although there are still several agonizing months before NBA basketball returns to us. The Bucks have made some interesting roster moves thus far.
Matthew Dellavedova, Mirza Teletovic and Miles Plumlee were all signed (or re-signed, in Plumlee’s case). Thon Maker and Malcolm Brogdon were also added through the 2016 NBA Draft.
In terms of departing players, the Bucks lost all of the following players: Jerryd Bayless, O.J. Mayo, Greivis Vasquez, Damien Inglis and Johnny O’Bryant. And also technically Steve Novak‘s contract is expired, although he’s likely to be back with the Bucks next season.
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This piece isn’t focused on what’s likely to happen, though. This is a grade of the Bucks current depth chart, one meant to be compared to a later version before the season starts to see how Milwaukee addressed any current weaknesses on the roster.
Each position will be broken down in terms of the options there, and then given two different grades, one for talent, one for fit. Although positionless basketball is absolutely a thing, the traditional five positions will be used here.
Hopefully the Milwaukee Bucks can fill out any weak points noted here before next year begins. No Bucks fans want to see the team’s bench struggle as hard as it did last year ever again.
Next: Point Guard
Point Guard
The Players: Matthew Dellavedova, Michael Carter-Williams, Tyler Ennis
Talent Grade – B: This is a pretty talented group of players, but there are no standouts here. Dellavedova will likely start with Carter-Williams serving as a change-of-pace sixth man, while Ennis continues to find spot minutes when one of the other two has to sit for some reason.
Despite none of these three being an All-Star type talent, all of them are at least okay players with none of them being abjectly terrible. With the talent the Bucks have at other positions, that’s perfectly fine.
Fit Grade – C: All three of these players should fit into Milwaukee’s rotation fairly well, but the big question here is how they’ll fit together. Will Carter-Williams be okay with being the backup, if that is the direction the team goes in?
Carter-Williams and Ennis both struggle a bit with three-point shooting, which isn’t good for point guards that will share the floor with both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker at times. Ennis shot a decent 33.3 percent from deep, with MCW doing worse at 27.3 percent.
Next: Shooting Guard
Shooting Guard
The Players: Khris Middleton, Malcolm Brogdon, Rashad Vaughn
Talent Grade – C: Khris Middleton is awesome. He was the best all-around player on the Milwaukee Bucks last season, and was deserving of some All-Star hype around mid-season. Malcolm Brogdon and Rashad Vaughn are less awesome, for now at least.
Vaughn had one of the worst rookie seasons in recent memory last year, and Brogdon just came off of an ugly Summer League performance in terms of scoring, although his distribution skills were impressive. Even if both players show some moderate levels of improvement, relying on a rookie and a struggling sophomore as backups here is a bit suspect.
Fit Grade – A: Brogdon and Vaughn being so unproven almost helps a bit in this aspect of things. They’re not going to expect tons of minutes and they certainly won’t show any resentment about Middleton starting above them.
If both Brogdon and Vaughn find the shooting strokes they were touted for when they were drafted, this core should provide what the Bucks need from them. Middleton will bring it, that much is without question at least.
Next: Small Forward
Small Forward
The Players: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Talent Grade – D: Giannis Antetokounmpo was a top tier player in the latter months of the 2015-16 NBA season. But he’s only one player. A position group needs at least two players to be decent, and really needs three to be considered solid.
Even if we assume Steve Novak will be a Buck next season, this is still by far the weakest area in Milwaukee’s rotation. Just because Giannis is very good doesn’t mean Milwaukee doesn’t have to throw a real backup behind him.
Fit Grade – A: I was very torn between giving Giannis’ fit with the Bucks either an A or a N/A. The reason for that is simple: he’s the centerpiece that Milwaukee is building around. His talent and potential are such that the Bucks are okay with adapting their roster to mask his weaknesses and exemplify his strengths.
As with shooting guard, the only real benefit to not having a proven backup–or in this case any backup–is that there won’t be jockeying for the starting position or for minutes. Nobody the Bucks add at small forward will think they have a real shot at displacing Giannis as the starter. Still, the Greek Freak needs some help.
Next: Power Forward
Power Forward
The Players: Jabari Parker, Mirza Teletovic, Thon Maker
Talent Grade – A: This will likely be the Bucks most talented depth chart position by the time the season is in full swing. Jabari Parker seems poised to make the next step in his development this season, which could lead to a coming out party for the third-year forward.
He’s followed by a very capable stretch four in Teletovic, who is a more-than-proven shooter and a solid rebounder as well. His rebounding ability will help mask one of Parker’s biggest weaknesses, which has been his lack of aggressive rebounding.
Thon Maker is more of a question mark than anything else, but even if he just comes in and gets a few blocks and makes a couple of threes it’ll be adding a fun punch to this group.
Fit Grade – B: Jabari’s lack of three-point shooting to this point in his career is the only thing holding this group back from another A, along with potential defensive problems between him and Teletovic. As with Giannis though, Jabari’s talent and potential has led the Bucks to build around him, so his weaknesses aren’t so glaring.
There shouldn’t be any questions about roles in this group. Jabari Parker is clearly the starter, while Teletovic will play vital bench minutes and Maker sees looks here and there. The backup fours fit the Bucks well too, especially if Thon can start making threes at a semi-consistent rate.
Next: Center
Center
The Players: Greg Monroe, John Henson, Miles Plumlee
Talent Grade – A+: It seems like there’s no chance the Milwaukee Bucks actually pay out $42 million to three centers over the course of the 2016-17 NBA season, but right now that’s how the Bucks roster is shaped to look.
This group won’t make it to the season, but if they did they’d be the most talented position on the depth chart, without question. There is one starting-caliber player on the roster at shooting guard and small forward, and maybe two at point guard and power forward.
This group boasts three players who could start on at least a few NBA teams. Monroe, Henson and Plumlee are all young and talented, all of them in their own unique way.
Fit Grade – F: Everybody covering the Bucks, especially us here at Behind the Buck Pass, have written endlessly about how poorly Greg Monroe fits with the Milwaukee Bucks. In an attempt to not sound like a broken record, I won’t go too far into that all here, except to say that it’s very true.
In addition to that, paying $42 million to three centers when none of them are in Milwaukee’s big three is a ludicrous thing to do. None of these three will want to be a third center next season, and Monroe probably won’t want to take a bench role.
Even the player who won the starting job in this projected group might not be too happy–their minutes would be tiny considering the quality of Milwaukee’s center group.
Next: Grading The Miles Plumlee Contract
As soon as Greg Monroe is traded, this group will leap up to an A in their fit grade. The talent mark will drop a bit as well, but that’s a worthwhile trade-off considering how little sense this group currently makes for the Bucks.