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Milwaukee Bucks: Could Spencer Hawes have a role next season?

By Ti Windisch

OAKLAND, CA - MARCH 18: Spencer Hawes #00 of the Milwaukee Bucks handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors on March 18, 2017 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - MARCH 18: Spencer Hawes #00 of the Milwaukee Bucks handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors on March 18, 2017 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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After not doing much last season for the Milwaukee Bucks, will Spencer Hawes find a role this time around?

For somebody who Milwaukee Bucks fans have fantasized about either waiving and stretching or trading this summer, Spencer Hawes seems like a pretty happy dude. He’s spent the summer being much more productive than those wishing for him to be traded, and working out with his fellow Bucks.

The workouts, which have been posted mostly on Instagram stories, were also documented as a post on John Henson‘s feed recently. Look at how thrilled Hawes seems!

Although 90 percent of the vibes in that picture are fantastic, that 10 percent of negativity is present in all four of the Bucks centers being there: Hawes, John Henson, Greg Monroe, and Thon Maker.

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They all seem like good buddies, which is really cool, but unfortunately there’s just too many of them for the roster to make a ton of sense right now. It also makes their role in the rotation quite tricky for Jason Kidd to navigate.

As it stands, Thon is the starter and Moose is his backup. Even if both guys played just 24 minutes, that is it for the center rotation on an average night. The obvious question, then, is what about Hawes and Henson?

Of course there are plenty of abnormal nights that make having a third center very important. An injury, a night off, and sometimes even a matchup can elevate that third center to playing a not insignificant amount of minutes on a given night. Big men get tired sometimes as the season goes on, so it’s important to be able to give them a rest whenever necessary.

A fourth center, though, is just unnecessary. The financial details of the big man overload are bad enough, considering Hawes will make $6 million this season and Henson will get $11 million, but what’s not often talked about is how tough it is on those two to battle for what are, essentially, scrap minutes.

Henson may not be the up-and-coming starting center many thought he was, but he’s better than someone fighting for a third center’s job. Hawes is about as mobile as his beloved Space Needle on defense, but he’s still quite a shooter and a decent enough rebounder.

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Both players have utility, even if it’s limited. The problem is neither of them have been able to get into much of a groove thanks to inconsistent roles. We’ve already broken down how a John Henson trade could be good for Henson here–it might be good for Hawes too.

That sort of deal–assuming another center doesn’t return in Henson’s place–would immediately end any and all questions about the center rotation. Thon starts, Monroe plays reserve center, and Hawes slides into that third center role discussed earlier.

That kind of clarity could be good for Hawes in this final season of his contract. He wouldn’t be a nightly contributor, but he would be ready to step in and do his thing on a moment’s notice if either Maker or Monroe needed a breather. He would have a set role, and clarity, something that makes bench players more effective.

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Hawes will likely continue to come in, set some screens, and make some threes even if he gets his typical spot opportunities from last year. Having a real role, though, would likely necessitate a trade moving Henson. Or a roster move landing Hawes on a different team, one that has such a role for him.

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