Milwaukee Bucks: Third time’s a charm for Wisconsin Herd?
By Adam McGee
With the official introduction of new Wisconsin Herd coach Chase Buford, the Milwaukee Bucks will be hoping to crack the winning G League formula.
Entering into their third season in existence, the Wisconsin Herd, the Milwaukee Bucks’ G League affiliate, will be all too eager to finally find a winning formula.
That was all too apparent on Wednesday afternoon, as Chase Buford was officially introduced as the team’s new coach, taking on the task of improving upon the 33-67 record the franchise owns after its first two seasons.
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That will by no means by a simple feat. Life in the G League is tough and, as the Herd learned in their first season when they got off to an outstanding start as one of the league’s best teams, even when you build a great roster, there’s always a possibility that more lucrative offers from the NBA and overseas can lure your players away midseason.
Two-way players Frank Mason III and Cameron Reynolds won’t be poached away at any point, though, and that should provide a very strong base for Buford to build his team around for much of the year.
Of course, part of getting the most out of Mason and Reynolds will depend on the Bucks and Herd combining better than they’ve necessarily always managed to in the past.
Speaking in his introductory press conference, Buford made no secret of it being a top priority to get both teams working together, and on the same page, next season:
"“Our most important goal for the Herd this year is going to be to have great communication and synergy with the Bucks.”"
There have been moments of positive communication between both sides in the past, but it’s not unfair to say the Bucks had yet to establish the kind of seamless working relationship that’s present with many other G League teams. At the very minimum, there can be no disputing that the Bucks have yet to reap the kind of rewards they’d have hoped for from the Herd in a developmental sense.
In signing two players with NBA experience already under their belts on two-way deals this summer, offering a platform from which Mason and Reynolds can help the Bucks, if called upon, will be key.
From his obvious connections to the Spurs, and his formative experience working on Mike Budenholzer’s Hawks, and under now Bucks assistant Josh Longstaff, there’s plenty of reason to believe Buford should make for a natural philosophical fit.
Beyond that, it’s clear that Buford won’t lack ambition in his time with the Herd.
Next. Wisconsin Herd: Learning more about new head coach Chase Buford. dark
While that’s all well and good, the time has come for a coherent vision between the two teams to lead to positive results in both the NBA and G League for both.