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Milwaukee Bucks: 5 goals for Pat Connaughton in 2018-19 season

By Jordan Treske

BROOKLYN, NY - NOVEMBER 24: Pat Connaughton #5 of the Portland Trail Blazers handles the ball against the Brooklyn Nets on November 24, 2017 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
BROOKLYN, NY - NOVEMBER 24: Pat Connaughton #5 of the Portland Trail Blazers handles the ball against the Brooklyn Nets on November 24, 2017 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 23: (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images for the NBPA)
NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 23: (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images for the NBPA) /

Live up to role player potential

Given that his tenure with the Blazers ended unceremoniously before the free agency period opened up over the summer, it would only be natural for Connaughton to harbor some bitter feelings for the way things ended for him in Portland, especially after what was his most featured season.

The 25-year-old wing spoke to that when speaking to The South Bend Tribune’s Tom Noie during Connaughton’s visit back to his old stomping grounds in South Bend early in September:

"“A little added motivation for somebody who’s pretty self-motivated can make for a pretty good combination,” Connaughton said during a Labor Day weekend return visit to Notre Dame, a place he still considers a second home. “It’s a matter of never forgetting how it ended (in Portland). “Wearing a chip on your shoulder never hurts.”"

It’s certainly a part of the business end of the game that Connaughton discussed later in the piece, but what first stood as a negative can always be turned into a positive with the opportunity he’s been given with the Bucks as he alluded to in that quote.

With that, Connaughton has a foundation to build off of in Milwaukee from where his time in Portland left off. Considering the second year of his two-year deal with the Bucks is fully non-guaranteed, the financial and career stakes that surrounded Connaughton’s last year in Portland transfer into this season with the Bucks.

It’ll be on Connaughton to deliver positive results as it relates to his potential with the Bucks and to do so with some level of urgency.

Next. Bucks: 5 goals for Sterling Brown in 2018-19 season. dark

Be sure to keep coming around here to Behind the Buck Pass for more individual season previews in the lead up to the start of the 2018-19 NBA season.

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