Q1. How are you feeling about the decisions facing the Bucks and the options they have heading into free agency?
Theo Konstantellos (@theokon7): I feel like the Bucks don’t have flexibility so I expect a quiet offseason. Try to sign Jabari Parker to a reasonable deal, use the mid-level exception to get a center and wait for good trade opportunities to potentially present themselves without a big rush. I’d actually prefer it if the Bucks waited untill the regular season to make trades as potential improvement under coach Budenholzer could increase the value of their assets.
If Jabari is overpaid and walks, however, then Milwaukee should consider giving up assets to trade Matthew Dellavedova and John Henson for contracts that expire in 2019. Otherwise they can’t really make use of any cap space to sign a free agent and Jabari will have walked for nothing.
Ben Rauman (@suckamint): I think trying to shed Henson and Dellavedova’s contracts and gauging Bledsoe’s trade value are both steps in the right direction, however I was worried when Milwaukee was rumored to have interest in Knicks’ center Enes Kanter.
While he’s a good rebounder and solid offensive player, his defensive limitations, off-the-court issues and albatross of a contract should disqualify him from consideration. There are a lot of cheaper options the Bucks can explore that would only require veteran minimum deals.
I don’t think the Bucks necessarily need to be extremely active this summer outside of Jabari’s situation. Finding cheap veterans to round out the roster should be the focus. If the right deal emerges to dump salary, they should jump on it, but letting the current roster get the chance to gel with a new coaching staff could be beneficial as well.
Jordan Treske (@JordanTreske): Of course, the Bucks’ summer will be more or less defined by what happens in their negotiations with Jabari Parker. While that will capture all of our attention and will significantly impact the limited resources the Bucks have available to them throughout this offseason and beyond, I do believe there are several interesting options that stand as nice buy-low candidates that can possibly turn into solid pieces over time, provided they land in spots that are conducive for their development.
The same applies to a few veteran players as well, but the overarching theme this summer for me will be how inventive the Bucks will be in targeting players that have yet to reach their ceiling or fill a glaring need based on how the roster is currently constructed. My confidence level in that, however, well that’s another story for another time.
Adam McGee (@AdamMcGee11): Jordan hit the nail on the head. There are more options open to the Bucks than most people seem to realize this summer, and if they can be creative, there’s room for some really positive moves to be made.
There are plenty of talented role players available who could help the Bucks, and there’s such little cap space around the league that it’s a guarantee that some of them will have to settle for exceptions.
The key to even being able to come in to play with any of those possibilities is Parker, though. Parker’s situation has the potential to drag on and on, and that won’t serve the Bucks well in any way. The longer it drags on, the greater the chance of Parker signing the qualifying offer and leaving as an unrestricted free agent next summer becomes, and the more targets will likely be off the board elsewhere.
I’d hope the Bucks have a clear idea of whether they want to keep Parker or move on, and either way, the chances of the summer having a resolution they deem successful may be tied to being able to make relatively quick and decisive moves with a situation that has the potential to be something much more elongated and frustrating.