Every team could use another talented veteran in NBA free agency. Could Anthony Tolliver be one of those guys for the Milwaukee Bucks?
The Milwaukee Bucks are in an interesting spot regarding this year’s NBA free agency. Every fan wants their team to snag a huge name in free agency — this season, players like Gordon Hayward and Chris Paul are getting a lot of attention in that regard.
The Bucks are in no position to even consider either of those players. Both because they’ve got their star player in Giannis Antetokounmpo, and because Milwaukee has absolutely no cap space to use this summer.
Giannis is good enough for the Bucks to be competitive even without adding another star, but he needs a good cast of players around him. Both new draftees and veterans added in free agency will determine Milwaukee’s success going forward.
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The NBA Draft is over and done with, but NBA free agency has yet to start. Due to the cap issues covered here (which were expounded by Spencer Hawes opting in on Monday night), the Bucks need to aim for affordable targets.
Could Anthony Tolliver be that kind of a player? Tolliver is certainly no Gordon Hayward or CP3, but is he the right player for the Bucks to chase? To find out, let’s go through his strengths, weaknesses, potential salary and his fit in Milwaukee.
Strengths
Anthony Tolliver has been around. Tolliver has been on nine teams since being drafted back in 2008, making him seem older than his actual age of 32. Tolliver isn’t fresh out of college anymore, but he’s hardly ancient.
Aside from the usual nice veteran leadership stuff, Tolliver still has game on the floor. He’s an unselfish player who can really nail threes, as he canned 39.1 percent of his triples on a bad Sacramento Kings team last season.
Tolliver’s career three-point percentage isn’t all that impressive at 36.2 percent, but like many players he’s made strides on improving that percentage in the last few seasons. Over the last four of them, Tolliver has hit 38.1 percent of his triples, a more-than-healthy percentage.
Averages of 7.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists accurately portray that Tolliver is a role player, if not a fairly productive one. Despite his lack of fanfare and multiple NBA stops, there’s no denying that Anthony Tolliver is going to make an impact on an NBA team next season. The well-traveled Tolliver’s ability to hit three-pointers means he shouldn’t have much trouble finding another new home next year.
Weaknesses
The Sacramento Kings defense was generally trash last season. That’s kind of what happens when a team is mostly young players and DeMarcus Cousins (for half of a season), plus aging vets like Tolliver.
Even though the Kings defense was bad when pretty much anybody was on the floor, it got worse when Tolliver was out there. Sacramento allowed teams to score 110.6 points per 100 possessions with Tolliver, the second-worst mark on the team.
When he wasn’t on the floor, the Kings gave up 108.2 points per 100 possessions. Like I said, the Sacramento defense was never stout, but it was nearly at its worst with Tolliver on the floor. That’s not a terrific sign for him going forward, although whichever team signs Tolliver will likely convince themselves that the on/off numbers are just noise.
Tolliver doesn’t have a whole lot of strengths besides his three-point shooting. That might be enough to get him signed to another team, but his next-best skill is probably his rebounding, which at less than six boards per 36 minutes last season wasn’t exactly brolic for a forward.
Tolliver is what he is — a smart veteran who won’t dribble the air out of the ball before either shooting it or passing it. He’s not uber-athletic or a defensive stopper, but you get what you pay for.
Salary
The Sacramento Kings being the Sacramento Kings, they signed Tolliver to a pretty weird deal last summer. Technically it was for two years and $16 million, but not even the Kings are foolish enough to actually guarantee that much to an aging forward.
Only $10 million of the deal was guaranteed, as Sacramento waived Tolliver on his 32nd birthday to avoid paying $6 million of his salary this season, which is why we’re here talking about Tolliver as a free agent option for the Milwaukee Bucks.
After getting $8 million for at least one season last year, it’s easy to assume Tolliver might be too expensive for the Bucks this time around. That deal may have been an aberration, though. The Kings were part of the two-thirds of the NBA who had cap space last summer — this time around, there’s less money to be thrown at veterans like Tolliver.
On the other hand, he did have a pretty nice season over in Sacramento. Still, the lack of money and reduction of the salary cap means Tolliver will almost certainly make less this summer, which should mean he’s a realistic option even for the cash-strapped Bucks.
Fit With Bucks
Anthony Tolliver could be seen as fitting with pretty much any team. After all, a combo forward who can shoot in today’s NBA is a valuable player to help space the floor, which has become the top priority for most teams around the Association.
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Unfortunately, the Bucks have no need for any more big men. Even with Jabari Parker out for the first portion of the 2017-18 NBA season, Milwaukee has Mirza Teletovic and now D.J. Wilson filling the stretch four role, plus that’s where Giannis Antetokounmpo started for most of last season.
Milwaukee might want to add another forward for depth purposes if Michael Beasley ends up leaving this summer, but it would probably be a cheaper option than Tolliver, unless he ends up accepting the veteran minimum this year in NBA free agency.
If so, Tolliver would be a nice addition at cost for the Bucks, especially considering his veteran presence. One has to wonder if he’d be willing to take less money for a multi-year deal, to avoid having to move again after next season.
Next: FA Profile: Justin Holiday
If not, the Bucks will likely look for someone who will. Milwaukee has some real needs on the wings, but power forwards and centers are not likely to draw tons of interest from the Milwaukee Bucks in NBA free agency, because Milwaukee already has so damn many.