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Milwaukee Bucks: Adding experience a clear theme of offseason

By Jordan Treske

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 23: Kyle Korver #26 of the Utah Jazz attempts a shot in the first quarter against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on March 23, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. 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. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 23: Kyle Korver #26 of the Utah Jazz attempts a shot in the first quarter against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on March 23, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. 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. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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As the Milwaukee Bucks have explored avenues to fill out their roster in an effort to capitalize on their current title contending window, beefing up their veteran experience has been a consistent theme throughout the offseason.

Fresh off of a 60-win season and logging their first trip to the Conference Finals in 18 years, the Milwaukee Bucks haven’t rested on their laurels throughout this offseason.

Having retained most of their foundation from last year’s squad on the opening day of this year’s free agency period, the Bucks have scoured the open market to find steady contributors that can fill valuable roles with the holes that opened up on their depth chart throughout the summer.

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Those have come in the form of long-time NBA veterans Robin Lopez, Wes Matthews and, most recently, Kyle Korver.

Between Korver, Lopez and Matthews, the Bucks have added 37 seasons of NBA experience to their roster and have collectively seen all of the triumphs and occasional absurdities that the NBA can offer over the course of a career.

Korver ranks atop the trio in terms of having logged the most substantial minutes and experience of playing under the most highly pressurized scenarios the NBA can offer.

The 37-year-old has reached the Conference Finals four times between his stints with the Chicago Bulls, the Atlanta Hawks under current Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer and, most recently, the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was also with the Cavaliers where Korver made back-to-back appearances in the NBA Finals in 2017 and 2018.

However, both Lopez and Matthews have seen their fair share of the postseason serving in key starting roles during their days with the Portland Trail Blazers back during the 2013-14 season (Matthews’ Achilles injury the following season came well before the Blazers’ short-lived playoff run in 2015).

For a Bucks team that was largely untested throughout their rise to the league’s best record last season, as well as a core that hadn’t experienced the pressure cooker that can be playoff basketball prior to their run to the Conference Finals, that can’t go unrecognized.

Of course, the one clear exception to that is Greek forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo, older brother of superstar and reigning MVP, Giannis. The elder Antetokounmpo’s NBA inexperience and all-around raw game may ultimately prevent him from serving in a role that’s anything more than marginal in the grand scheme of things.

With that said, though, Antetokounmpo’s history of playing in the EuroLeague with Panathinaikos, as well as playing with the Greek national team in highly competitive settings like Eurobasket and the upcoming edition of the FIBA World Cup gives the 27-year-old a unique experience in its own right.

The biggest question hanging over the Bucks’ recent spate of veteran additions is whether they all can hold up to playing viable, impactful roles over the course of the 2019-20 season.

Surely, the Bucks’ coaching staff will go to great lengths to ensure that all of their more experienced, older players will be fresh and durable throughout the campaign with load management days, much like they did with all of the starters last season.

And considering the Bucks’ roster arguably looks to be just a tad deeper than it was at their peak last season, at least on paper, taking the long view is always necessary, given what the Bucks could be vying for next June, if all things go to plan.

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It all makes for quite the whirlwind that the Bucks have, for the time being, turned into an ideal landing spot for players looking to fulfill the all-elusive experience of somehow winning an NBA title. It goes without saying that bump in status has certainly been earned too.

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