For the second time in his young career, Jabari Parker is working his way back after tearing his ACL last season. While we’ll have to wait to see him back in action, what can he offer the Milwaukee Bucks when he does return this coming year?
When it comes to the status of Jabari Parker, the feeling has become all too familiar for the Milwaukee Bucks and for their fans alike.
As it stands, Parker is in the middle of his second rehabilitation after having torn his left ACL for the second time in three years midway through the season last year. From all accounts, the team are targeting a February return date at the earliest.
Not only does the injury hinder Parker’s personal development once again, it also comes at a crossroads in his career since he’s set to be a restricted free agent next summer.
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As David Aldridge of NBA.com wrote this week in his piece covering potential rookie extensions, it stands as an unlikely possibility that both sides come to a deal before the rookie extension deadline this coming Monday night:
"“Tough call for Milwaukee. Parker’s talent is obvious and he could be a major pillar of the Bucks’ core with Giannis Antetokounmpo going forward. But Parker’s coming off a second ACL injury, suffered last year, and isn’t expected back until February. Milwaukee could re-route some of the combined $29 million it’s paying Greg Monroe and John Henson this season to Parker, but this one is going down to the wire. Right now, the lean is to no deal.”"
With that to set the stage, there’s a lot riding on the table for the Chicago native this year. In what will be an abbreviated season, Parker will have to prove that his athleticism and explosiveness still remain intact through his second knee injury and will have to quickly get back up to speed within a Bucks team that’s aiming for greater aspirations.
That’s obviously assuming Parker clears all the obstacles that still stand in the way in his recovery as well as not taking into account the restrictions that will likely be in place once he does return a few months from this point.
So without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at what Parker has to offer, where he fits upon returning and much more.
What does Parker offer?
Before he unfortunately got hurt last season, Parker was well on his way of realizing his potential as a productive and efficient scorer as he made substantial strides in his offensive output.
In his shortened season, Parker averaged 20.1 points per game on 49 percent shooting from the field and 36.5 percent shooting from three, both his scoring production and three-point efficiency acting as career highs for the 22-year-old.
While he still has a ways to go in becoming the one-on-one scorer he projected to be in college, Parker’s improved effectiveness from beyond the three-point line and hitting shots off the catch were very necessary hurdles to clear in order to expand his overall offensive repertoire.
Of course, Parker doesn’t come without his flaws, either. Parker’s continued deficiencies on the defensive end have only lowered the expectations that he can eventually become an average defender in the years to come.
The same could be considered for his work on the glass, despite the fact that he averaged a career-high 6.2 rebounds per game last year. Parker’s willingness to consistently bang on the boards comes and goes more than one would like, especially for a player of his position as well as his physical gifts.
No matter the longstanding flaws and concerns in his game as well as his long-term health, there’s still plenty to be optimistic of in terms of Parker’s potential as a scorer and contributor on the offensive end. That obviously doesn’t mean he’s a complete package just yet either though.
How does Parker fit in?
Under normal circumstances, Parker would immediately slot into the team’s starting lineup as he has done for all but five of his 152 total appearances in his career.
However, we’re not dealing with normal circumstances and once he returns to action, it feels very safe to assume plenty of stipulations will be placed on Parker, whether it’s minutes restrictions or even bringing him off the bench just to get his feet wet at first.
How long Parker would potentially remain in that kind of role will be an interesting thing to monitor once we get to that point in the season, which is only made more fascinating considering the time he’s targeting his return to the court.
As it has been penciled in from fans, followers and experts alike on the outside of the league, the Bucks will hopefully be in the midst of a playoff race that will only be starting to heat up in the Eastern Conference (at least in the top half of the conference).
That’s obviously different compared to when Parker returned just three games into the 2015-16 season and with that, the Bucks will be wise to bringing in a new element at a cautious pace within what should (hopefully) be a well-oiled machine by that point.
What is Parker saying?
Whether it was how his recovery was going, his thoughts on the social issues going on all over the country or all the uncertainty hanging over his future in Milwaukee, Parker’s availability during the team’s Media Day was one that stood out in many ways. In regard to what he’s honing in on heading into a crucial year of his career, this is what Parker had to say:
"“I just focus on what I can improve and I try to erase all the distractions and the outside noise, because my life is on the line, and I want to get better. This is where I want to be, but at this point, it’s not my choice.”"
Even though the expectation has been that Parker will return to the court in February next year, one can’t help but notice the progress he’s made up until this point, as evidenced by the clips and details that have surfaced of him in action since the start of training camp.
In a piece on his rehabilitation by Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Parker relayed how his physical development has led to him clearing checkpoints at a faster rate in his second recovery compared to his first go around:
"“I’m a little bit ahead just because my foundation is so good,” he said. “When I tore my ACL the first time (in December 2014) I really didn’t have a good platform, but now it was able to carry over.”"
Expectations for Parker this season
Having been through this once before, it’s safe to say there will be a period of adjustment for Parker once he finally returns to the floor.
It took roughly three-and-a-half months after returning from his first knee injury for the Duke product to find a consistent groove amid an underperforming Bucks team two seasons ago. If that pattern were to occur again, that would bring Parker finding his form well into the postseason and presumably after the Bucks’ season were to come to an end (I’m very willing to be wrong here, folks).
That would not exactly be ideal timing by any stretch of the imagination and it only encapsulates on how challenging it will be for Parker to prove that he’s not only regained his athletic form, but can produce at a consistent rate as well in such a short amount of time.
But the stakes are high for Parker to do exactly that in his fourth year in the league and with negotiations for a new contract on the line.
Of course, there’s the chance that Parker can bounce back at a faster pace than he did the first time around and the urgency to perform may act as the catalyst that proves he’s the same player he was before injury struck him the second time.
To expect that, however, can only lead to dangerous consequences, something all Bucks fans have experienced not that long ago.
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We’ll have to wait to see what’s in store for Parker once he makes his return to the court well into the season. Where things go from there, both on and off the court, remains to be seen.