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The Buck Stops Here: Reflecting on Malcolm Brogdon’s stint with the Milwaukee Bucks

By Jordan Treske

BOSTON, MA - DECEMBER 21: Malcolm Brogdon #13 of the Milwaukee Bucks seen during player introductions prior to the game against the Boston Celtics on December 21, 2018 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. 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 2018 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - DECEMBER 21: Malcolm Brogdon #13 of the Milwaukee Bucks seen during player introductions prior to the game against the Boston Celtics on December 21, 2018 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. 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 2018 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Now that he’s reportedly departing for greener pastures via a sign-and-trade deal, we reflect on Malcolm Brogdon‘s three seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Milwaukee Bucks were right in the thick of the free agency frenzy that erupted throughout the opening day of this year’s NBA free agency period.

While they were able to retain the majority of their free agents that stood as valuable contributors behind their 60-win season, one departure rose above the fray. Of course, I’m referring to combo guard Malcolm Brogdon.

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The Bucks agreed to send the 26-year-old to the Indiana Pacers in a sign-and-trade deal, which netted them three future draft picks (one first rounder, two second rounders).

Upon arriving to the Pacers, Brogdon will reportedly sign a four-year, $85 million deal, all guaranteed and no options as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Sunday evening.

All of this stood as quite the stunner to a majority of Bucks fans and did somewhat sour what was an otherwise banner day for the Bucks to maintain their contending roster. As a result, there’s no better time to look back on Brogdon’s three years in Milwaukee, where he grew into an incredibly dependable player.

Selected with the 36th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, Brogdon stood as the ready-made contributor alongside Thon Maker, the raw project who was also a part of the team’s draft class in that year.

That bore out on the court once Brogdon’s rookie season tipped off as his highly efficient, versatile game led to the Atlanta native taking over the starting point guard spot from Australian international Matthew Dellavedova over the course of the year. Before long, Brogdon garnered plenty of buzz by becoming an integral piece behind the Bucks’ resurgence in the 2016-17 season amid significant injuries to both Khris Middleton and Jabari Parker.

Following a contentious three-man race between Brogdon and a then pair of Philadelphia 76ers players in Joel Embiid and Dario Saric, the Virginia alum took home that year’s NBA Rookie of the Year, which made him the second player in franchise history to garner the award (the first being Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar back in 1970).

Brogdon’s highly successful rookie year served as a baseline for what he experienced with the Bucks from that point on in his three-year tenure, even as the Bucks upgraded their roster around him, most notably in the acquisition of Eric Bledsoe.

The only thing to disrupt Brogdon’s rock-solid play was his durability as he suffered a partially torn quad tendon in the 2017-18 season and a plantar fascia tear last year, which sidelined Brogdon for a combined 52 regular season appearances.

But while Brogdon was and has often been looked at as a finished product all throughout his time with the Bucks, he continued to make great strides to improve on his ultra complementary skill-set. That culminated in a career campaign for the 2018-19 season where Brogdon was among many Bucks holdovers to benefit from the high-profile arrival of head coach Mike Budenholzer.

Although Brogdon’s plantar fascia tear prematurely capped off his regular season campaign, it didn’t derail him from becoming the ninth player in NBA history to compile a 50-40-90 season. Joining an elite class of marksmen and revolutionary shooters speaks to how just sturdy Brogdon’s all-around fit proved to be with the Bucks.

In his 187 appearances with the Bucks, 112 of them coming as starts, Brogdon averaged 12.8 points on .484/.408/.895 shooting splits, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists across 28.1 minutes per contest.

While the Bucks have gone ahead and addressed the void left by Brogdon’s departure by essentially swapping him for Wesley Matthews after reportedly agreeing to a deal worth the veteran’s minimum Monday, it’d be understandable for some fans to have a sour taste left by his hasty departure.

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to separate Brogdon’s exit from the luxury tax concerns Milwaukee was staring at if they were looking to bring back their regular starting lineup, plus veteran George Hill, who ended up being an integral member to the Bucks’ success over the course of last year.

There were plenty of rumblings that the Bucks held reservations about what Brogdon was going to command in competitive offer sheets from rival teams and his checkered injury history was impossible to ignore.

That, though, shouldn’t cloud the fact that, from a basketball and fit perspective, Brogdon was a tailormade player for the Bucks’ pass-dribble-shoot ethos that has been a mandate under Budenholzer and the front office. From that lens, replacing Brogdon, his elite-level shooting and very crisp game, may prove to be harder to replace than the Bucks anticipate.

Bucks: Grades and reactions for the Malcolm Brogdon sign and trade. dark. Next

But that will be a topic for another day and we wish all the best to Malcolm moving forward as he writes a new chapter in his story with the Pacers.

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