Summer focus and final grade
The big question, as is the case for the more significant Bucks players this summer outside of Giannis Antetokounmpo, surrounding Mirotic is his pending free agency.
At 28 years old, Mirotic stands in the prime of his career and has the potential to lock down a rich, lengthy contract now that he’s completed the two-year, $27 million deal he originally signed with the Chicago Bulls two offseasons ago. With the skill set he possesses, all teams around the league could use someone of Mirotic’s capabilities and he won’t have a shortage of suitors who are in need to beef up their frontcourt and overall spacing.
For those reasons and the other free agency cases they’ll have to address in just a few weeks time, it’s very easy to believe that Mirotic may be the likeliest departure of the bunch as it relates to all Bucks free agents this summer.
That’s obviously just projecting but with the Bucks carrying enough forward depth at the moment, and that’s before what they end up doing in this year’s draft, Milwaukee’s priority of retaining all members of their starting lineup will be utmost going into the opening of free agency.
This was a likely scenario when the Bucks acquired Mirotic on the day of the trade deadline and while that doesn’t make the lasting inconsistencies from his personal playoff run any less harsh, the sound decision making behind the move is something you’d want to see the them do ten times out of ten in such a position in the future.
Aside from his upcoming free agency, it should also be noted that Mirotic is slated to be a key cog within Spain’s national team during this summer’s FIBA World Cup in China.
BTBP Final Grade: C
Our season reviews will wrap up in the coming days as we reflect on the final few remaining Bucks, including two of the team’s biggest stars.