Snell you later: A reflection on Tony Snell’s three years with the Milwaukee Bucks

Now that his time with the Milwaukee Bucks has come to a close after three seasons, we look back on the stint that Tony Snell logged while in the Cream City.

Ahead of their crucial free agent dealings this summer, the Milwaukee Bucks made a move that certainly states their intentions to retain the valuable pieces that made their 2018-19 season such a successful one.

Late Wednesday night, the Bucks struck a deal with the Detroit Pistons that saw the Bucks move their 2019 first rounder along with Tony Snell in exchange for Jon Leuer, which was first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

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While that put an end to their plans for this year’s draft as we all saw Thursday night, the move obviously also ended Snell’s time in Milwaukee after three seasons.

Acquired before the start of the 2016-17 season from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for the much maligned Michael Carter-Williams, Snell initially gave the Bucks some much needed cover in the wake of Khris Middleton tearing his hamstring during that year’s training camp.

The change of scenery and role consistency suited the New Mexico alum well alongside the team’s then-nucleus during superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s breakout All-Star campaign.

Snell’s ability to hit triples at a highly consistent rate (40.6 percent, in fact) and check the most gifted perimeter player on opposing teams was hugely important upon his arrival and played a small part in the team being able to craft a resurgent season amid significant injuries to Middleton as well as former cornerstone, Jabari Parker, that season.

As a result of compiling a career year that season, Snell commanded a big payday during the summer of 2017 by receiving a four-year, $44 million contract on the opening night of free agency to extend his stay in Milwaukee.

While Snell maintained his three-point shooting prowess in the following two seasons, his stint in Milwaukee became far more rocky as a result of picking up a series of knocks and falling out of favor under Jason Kidd and Joe Prunty, which caused Snell to lose his starting role at times throughout the 2017-18 season.

Current Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer didn’t permanently restore Snell’s role in the starting lineup throughout the Bucks’ 60-win campaign this year, but Snell’s occasional struggles with his confidence thankfully didn’t carry over in the coaching change.

All throughout the ups and downs, Snell maintained his positive presence in the locker room by valuing the team first over himself, and was a favorite of Antetokounmpo’s with their on-court chemistry palpable with the famed ‘Tony Snell play’ being the go-to example.

However, the bond between the two players off the court was apparent and this anecdote from Eric Nehm’s piece from November 2017 provided a glimpse on Antetokounmpo’s self-criticism, and the high standard he constantly holds himself to in victory and in defeat crystallizes Snell’s standing off the court:

"“After the game, Antetokounmpo sat at his locker and mumbled to Bucks shooting guard Tony Snell sitting at the locker to his right. His voice was barely audible. Snell’s voice, though, could be heard clearly for one of the first times since joining the roster three months earlier.“No,” Snell said. “We don’t talk like that. We’re positive in this locker room. We’re not going to talk like that in here.”It was a strange role reversal for the typically demure Snell to speak so forcefully to the chatty Antetokounmpo. Most scenes of the locker room neighbors had included a good bit of joking from the joyous youngster. Snell would typically say few words and often respond with a simple head nod or smile.“I actually do remember that,” Snell said last week. “In that locker room, we can’t focus on the negativity. We always have to stay positive. Keep adding positivity to your life and positive things will happen. I was just trying to put that in his mind.”"

That won’t be easy to replace, nor will the three-point shooting consistency that Snell provided for the majority of his Bucks career. But with enough depth pieces to cover the void he now leaves behind, which wasn’t so subtly seen during the Bucks’ playoff run this year, the writing was on the wall in regard to Snell’s future in Milwaukee by this season’s end, unfortunately.

All in all, Snell finished his Bucks stint averaging 7.2 points on .448/.403/.824 shooting splits, 2.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists across 24.9 minutes per contest in his 229 appearances, 151 of them coming as starts.

So while Snell’s three years in Milwaukee have now officially wrapped up, the best of luck goes out to him as he tries to find his footing in Detroit and wherever his future holds beyond that.