Milwaukee Bucks: 5 forwards to target in free agency
By Adam McGee
JaMychal Green
A quietly effective player in modest roles around the NBA in recent years, JaMychal Green took a major step forward last season in demonstrating exactly what he can bring to the table and how it can improve teams in a variety of situations.
That played out for Green as he split his season between the struggling Memphis Grizzlies and the upstart L.A. Clippers and delivered consistently excellent production for both teams.
All told, combining his contributions for both teams, Green averaged 9.4 points and 6.3 rebounds, while shooting 48.3 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from deep. Translated per 36 minutes, Green averaged 16 points and 10.7 rebounds. That kind of production along with over 40 percent from deep is not easy to find.
As a result, perhaps Green can fetch more lucrative offers from around the NBA. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see smart teams make Green a priority around the mid-level, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible for him to fall below that depending on how the market shakes out.
If the Bucks are looking to make the most of the room exception, Green should be high on their list of priorities. Adding his combination of shooting and rebounding would further enhance the team’s versatile frontcourt reserve corps of Ersan Ilyasova and D.J. Wilson, and may also make Ilyasova expendable if the Bucks wanted to get off of his contract to reduce potential tax costs later in the season.
Signing a player like Green with the limited resources the Bucks will have after retaining their own free agents will be beyond their control, but there’s certainly worse plans they could have in place.