Tony Snell
Prediction: Will average more than five three-point attempts per game
Why it will happen: Snell’s late-season struggles last year have been well-documented by now. However, no player could stand to benefit more from the arrival of Budenholzer than the 6’7″ shooting guard.
Snell is about as prototypical as it gets for the 3-and-D model of a wing player. He’s tall, lanky and has a quick and smooth shooting stroke, just the kind of player who has thrived under Budenholzer in the past. (See: DeMarre Carroll, Kyle Korver and Kent Bazemore.)
In an offense where he’ll be asked to literally not do anything besides shoot it from deep when he catches it, Snell’s attempts should jump from the 3.6 per game they were at last season to over 5.0 per game.
Why it won’t happen: It’s hard to finish last season as poorly as Snell did. After a season-and-a-half of great shooting in Milwaukee, the bottom seemed to drop out for him. That could very well carry over to this season.
Also, it will also depend on if Snell has enough playing time to jack up shots at the rate he’d need to.
Who knows if he’ll even start at the start of the season, and if he struggles off the bench similar to last season, he’ll likely have a short leash from Budenholzer and be replaced in the rotation by guys like Sterling Brown, Pat Connaughton and maybe even Donte DiVincenzo.