Milwaukee Bucks 2016-17 Season Review: John Hammond
Free Agency Hits (and misses)
The iceberg that sunk the 2015-16 season was most notably the Milwaukee Bucks inability to stretch the floor. Outside of Khris Middleton and Jerryd Bayless the Bucks had little-to-no three-point shooting. The Bucks took the least amount of three-point shots in the league and were 25th in three-point percentage.
So the offseason plan was pretty simple: surround Giannis with shooters and give him space to operate.
Hammond inked Cleveland glue-guy Matthew Dellavedova to a 4-year, $38 million dollar offersheet that the Cavaliers could not afford to match. Delly offered the three-point shooting the Bucks craved and brought championship experience and defensive grit that the team desperately needed.
His ability to play off ball made him the obvious choice to take over the starting point guard spot. Unfortunately, Delly’s shot didn’t make the trip to Milwaukee and he lost his starting spot to Malcolm Brogdon, but Delly did make an impact on the second unit and played clutch minutes in the postseason. While he might be overpaid and more apt for a bench-role, it was a decent signing.
Hammond followed up the Delly signing with another big name free agent, Bosnian sharpshooter Mirza Teletovic. Teletovic was coming off a season in Phoenix in which he made more three-pointers off the bench then had ever been done in the NBA before. It made perfect sense.
Unfortunately, Mirza also struggled with his shot and proved to be a liability on defense. It’s possible he wasn’t put in many situations to succeed, but regardless, he did not earn his three-year, $30 million dollar deal. How Hammond recoups the damage from the free-agency miss will be one of the main storylines for the upcoming summer.
Unpredictably, Hammond’s best signing came in the one-year deal awarded to the player Gus Johnson nicknamed the “Old Man and the Three”. Jason Terry played far more minutes than anyone could’ve expected and when he was on the court the Bucks just looked like a more competent team. Whether it was Hammond’s brilliance or coach Kidd’s desire to bring in someone familiar, we may never know, but when it comes to sports contracts, the man who seals the deal gets the praise. In that case, kudos, John Hammond.
Hammond also deserves a mountain of praise for signing Giannis Antetokoumnpo to a below-market contract extension before the season began. Giannis will likely make an All-NBA team this season and could’ve been eligible for a more lucrative deal, but Hammond got him signed long-term at a significantly lower number.