After being acquired by the Brooklyn Nets days before this year’s trade deadline, Tyler Zeller made a fine, albeit unspectacular, first impression as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks this season.
The topic of potentially making an upgrade at the center position was a source of intrigue surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks for many months this season.
Not since the Squad 6 days where Andrew Bogut was holding down the 5-spot have the Bucks had a permanent fixture holding down the fort year over year, despite what they thought were long-term solutions in players like Larry Sanders, Greg Monroe and to a lesser extent, John Henson.
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Similar shuffling bore out once again this year as Monroe was shipped to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, leaving Henson and Thon Maker to soak up the majority of minutes at the center position over the first half of the season.
As the Bucks were holding on for deer life (see what I did there?) and hoping that a lengthy injury absence wouldn’t strike their thin frontcourt, the team was continuously linked to Los Angeles Clippers big man DeAndre Jordan for months leading up to the trade deadline.
In the end, though, the Bucks wisely decided to avoid shaking up their current foundation and go with a more cost-effective option as they acquired Tyler Zeller from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for third-year guard Rashad Vaughn and what has become the 45th overall pick in this year’s draft.
Upon arriving in Milwaukee, the sixth-year big man gave the Bucks a different dimension at the center position and served as a serviceable option more often than not through his first two and half months with the team.
So without further ado, let’s reflect on Tyler Zeller’s introduction to Milwaukee on both ends of the spectrum, highlight on his best outing of the season and see where he can possibly go forward from here with the Bucks.