Milwaukee Bucks: Shabazz Muhammad will have great chance to make final roster
By Adam McGee
Having reportedly agreed to a training camp deal to return to the Milwaukee Bucks, Shabazz Muhammad will have a great chance to make the final roster.
The Milwaukee Bucks’ training camp outlook just got a little bit more interesting, as reports emerged on Monday night to suggest Shabazz Muhammad has agreed to a deal which could see him return for another season with the team.
Muhammad was acquired toward the end of last season, and played in 11 regular season games, as well as four postseason games against the Boston Celtics.
The 25-year-old arrived in Milwaukee carrying the baggage of his reputation as something of a ball-hog whose game wasn’t all that well suited to the modern NBA, yet in a relatively small sample size, Muhammad showed signs of some of those past criticisms perhaps being a little too harsh.
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As I’ve previously outlined, by any objective measure, Muhammad gave the Bucks all they could have asked of him throughout his time with the team last season, combining the kind of instant offense/volume shooting expected of him with surprising efficiency too.
That brief, but surprisingly positive, impression likely left the door open for Muhammad to carve out a longer term stay in the NBA, and with the Bucks specifically, and heading into training camp his presence will make for a situation that will be worth monitoring closely.
With Jordan Barnett, Travis Trice and Brandon McCoy already set for training camp, the battle for the final roster spot was shaping up to be less of a frequent discussion point than it was heading into last season. That remains the case, but the addition of Muhammad will certainly stoke the flames.
As things stand, the Bucks don’t currently have an open roster spot when looking ahead to the shape of their final 15-man squad heading into the season, although they have an easy path to creating one.
Tyler Zeller, another mid-season acquisition from last season, has a non-guaranteed contract which doesn’t guarantee until January, meaning the Bucks could waive him immediately if they felt a better alternative was available.
As a capable veteran big man on a minimum contract, Zeller may also have some appeal on the trade market if the Bucks hope to get anything back from a player they dealt a second round pick for last season.
Of course, the Bucks could opt to keep Zeller who is a very steady presence and by all accounts a good guy to have around the locker room, but it doesn’t take too much reflection on the shape of Milwaukee’s roster to imagine that as an unlikely scenario.
With Brook Lopez joining a center rotation that already included John Henson and Thon Maker, Zeller would be the fourth center on a Bucks roster that also possesses viable small-ball options in the shape of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Ersan Ilyasova.
If the Bucks are looking to maximize their options and the sense of versatility across their roster, it would likely be in their best interests to add another wing or forward rather than find themselves overloaded at the center position.
That situation will provide Muhammad with a golden opportunity to earn a more permanent stay with the Bucks, although there could yet be further moves to add other contenders for that spot into the mix.
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So, while the training camp battle is unlikely to be quite as dramatic this year as it was 12 months ago, make no mistake, there still could be plenty of decisions to be made depending on how things play out.