Re-signing George Hill
Once Malcolm Brogdon was moved, the Bucks turned their attention to bringing back George Hill, a man who they just waived days earlier in order to save themselves significant cap space.
Hill re-signed for three years, $29 million. Only the first two years of that deal are fully guaranteed, leaving Milwaukee some flexibility to move off of him rather quickly if they so choose.
Keeping Hill made sense. He was one of Milwaukee’s best performers in the post-season, emerging as a vital piece of their rotation after Eric Bledsoe’s shooting went ice cold after the Bucks’ opening round series. Hill was useful as a rotation guard all year, but he was arguably the team’s second best player at many junctures of their deep playoff run.
Milwaukee also lacked any depth at the point guard position behind Bledsoe entering next season. That left an obvious spot for someone like Hill to fill.
Hill’s contract, however, did appear to be a bit of an overpay. Though he shot well from deep in the postseason, Hill had struggled with his shot from distance for most of the regular season. Whether he can replicate the shooting that made him such an asset in the playoffs is far from a certainty.
He’s also 33, an age at which many guards begin to lose their athleticism. Athleticism is something that’s vital to being able to play that position well on both ends of the court. He’s already shown signs of losing a step athletically, something that’s of significant concern.
For comparison of value, Seth Curry, who also had a strong postseason and was one the league’s best three-point shooters this past season, signed for one more season than Hill, but for less money per year at four years, $32 million. This shows that the Bucks had other options they could have gone to in the market that were slightly cheaper and/or potentially better fits.
The Bucks also lost a vital asset by bringing him back on the money that they gave him. To make enough room in their cap-space to re-sign him, the Bucks had to forfeit a $10 million trade exception they had acquired in their trade of Malcolm Brogdon. That could have been a really valuable asset to helping them improve during the season, if they decided to make a trade.
Hill will fill a valuable role on the team next season. The Bucks know what they’re getting with him, and his veteran leadership is no doubt a fantastic thing to have around. They did, however, overpay him which resulted in a loss of a valuable trade exception. That makes this move a net negative.