Wisconsin Herd: Reflecting on their expansion season

With their inaugural season now wrapped up, we take a look at the various developments the Wisconsin Herd experienced, as well as the connection they served for the Milwaukee Bucks in their G League introduction this year.

Last Friday night marked the end of the first G League season for the Wisconsin Herd, the affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks.

It was a whirlwind of a season, especially considering they had been newly minted this time a year ago after a lengthy search involving a handful of cities around the state of Wisconsin vying to be the host city of the team’s G League venture. The Herd’s expansion campaign was a fitting introduction to the ever-changing nature that is the G League, both on and off the court.

With delays occurring in the latter stages of constructing their home, Menominee Nation Arena, right before the start of the season, the Herd and the Bucks organization as a whole took advantage of the opportunity by having the Herd play their first three home games of the year in the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

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When the Herd finally christened their home back on December 1 of last year, it only deepened the connection the organization has developed in the Fox Valley as the faithful from the area showed up in droves for the Herd to sport multiple sellout crowds from that point on in the season.

While the appetite for professional basketball in the city of Oshkosh was satiated once again, the Herd boosted their case to be the hottest ticket in town with the fairy tale-like start they got off to early in the year.

For the first two months of the season, the Herd’s strong start was arguably the biggest story going on throughout the G League as they even held the best record in all of the league well into the campaign.

As much as that is unheard of for an expansion team in the G League, it spoke to the guidance of first-year head coach Jordan Brady and the roster construction conducted by Herd general manager Dave Dean, who identified and acquired standout stars like Xavier Munford, James Young, Joel Bolomboy and Cliff Alexander, just to name a few.

Unfortunately, the Herd’s early success would not last long after the turn of the calendar year. That coincided with the departure of Young, who latched on with the Philadelphia 76ers in early January by signing a two-way contract (in unfortunate timing, Young was released by the 76ers late Monday afternoon).

And as much as the Herd had powered through the various obstacles that stood in their way to that point in the season, Young’s exit was just the start of a number of changes and reconfigurations (i.e. two-way contract slots) their roster underwent throughout the month of January and early February.

But as much as the Herd’s season had quickly spun out of their control as fast as they came running out of the gate, they certainly made a splash by catching the attention of the general NBA audience.

Of course, that’s what the addition of Brandon Jennings managed to do back on February 13 as the veteran point guard returned back to the organization he got his start in the NBA with after playing overseas in China for the first part of the season.

As it turned out, Jennings’ stint with the Herd acted as a sort of tune up for the 28-year-old as he got called up by the Bucks in mid-March after signing a pair of 10-day contracts with the club. Jennings being one of three call-ups the Herd enjoyed this year, along with Young and Munford, stands as a big achievement for any G League team, much less an expansion side.

Not only did the Herd provide a springboard for those three players to earn spots on NBA rosters, they also gave a stage for the Bucks’ pair of rookies in D.J. Wilson and Sterling Brown to earn game reps and ease them into their professional careers as they recorded 11 and three appearances with the club this season, respectively.

Couple all of that along with fourth-year forward Jabari Parker getting assigned to the team for multiple rehab assignments before making his return from injury in early February and it’s pretty clear the Herd’s relationship with the Bucks is on the same footing to how existing partnerships have progressed throughout the G League’s history.

For all the milestones and avenues they provided for each other, there’s obviously still work to be done to make the Herd’s relationship with the Bucks a shining example for all teams around the NBA to follow.

Even with the revolving door of players they’ve brought in on two-way contracts throughout the year, which has been a troubling trend to see occur around the league since the mechanism was implemented in the newest CBA, consistent roles in the Bucks’ rotation have yet to be carved out for all but one in former two-way player Gary Payton II, who registered 12 appearances this year, six of them being starts.

At the same time, all players possess different learning curves and it’s easy from where we stand to wish for those who have been successful on the G League level to get a fair shot at translating those results to the NBA stage, while not being privy to what goes on beyond closed doors in practice sessions.

Either way, although the Herd’s results on the court played to both extremes for the majority of the season, they blazed a trail in how they developed a connection within the Oshkosh community and the surrounding area off the court.

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As fascinating as it will be to see how their role for the Bucks evolves in the future as the G League and the NBA look to explore new frontiers in terms of developing prospects and such, it was incredibly thrilling to see the Herd already become part of the fabric that is the Bucks’ organization in just a year’s time.