Bucks G League: Wisconsin Herd load up with addition of Justin Patton
At 28-8, the Wisconsin Herd are closing in on their first-ever playoff berth. Now, the Milwaukee Bucks G League affiliate has loaded up ahead of the stretch run with the addition of big man Justin Patton.
As the Wisconsin Herd kicked off their stretch run with a 107-103 victory over the Grand Rapids Drive Wednesday night, they made quite the splashy move that is set to help them ahead of their inevitable run to the G League playoffs.
As first reported by Herd beat reporter Ti Windisch for the Oshkosh Herald, the Herd have added journeyman big man Justin Patton after he signed a G League contract Tuesday, per the G League’s transactions database. In a corresponding move, they released second-year big man Brandon McCoy.
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Patton comes to the Herd after what’s been an incredibly wayward NBA career over the last two-plus years, with stops with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Patton’s ill-fated tenure with the Timberwolves was marred by foot injuries after he was dealt to the organization as part of the Jimmy Butler trade from the Chicago Bulls, who selected Patton with the 16th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft (one spot ahead of current Bucks forward, D.J. Wilson).
While he has since returned to full health, Patton failed to catch on in his subsequent stints with the 76ers and the Thunder and was waived by the Dallas Mavericks last month after being traded there in exchange for rookie forward Isaiah Roby and cash considerations.
As a result of all of that, Patton has just logged nine appearances in the NBA over the last three seasons, playing for a grand total of 49 minutes and scoring 16 total points on 7-of-19 shooting from the field (1-for-6 from three, 1-for-2 from the foul line), 11 rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
At the same time, Patton is no stranger to playing in the G League and the vast majority of his playing time as a professional has come on this level. In his 72 G League appearances, Patton has averaged 11.9 points on .497/.292/.695 shooting splits, 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2 blocks across 23.9 minutes per contest.
Even from the time coming out of Creighton, talent has never been the issue for Patton as he’s never found his footing along his few stops around the league. And as you see in the clip above, Patton’s started to fill out his skill set and frame after his development was stunted by his aforementioned foot injuries upon joining the NBA.
Considering the Herd’s pedigree of being able to groom centers such as Christian Wood and more recently, Dragan Bender, Patton lands in a spot that can help him further realize his potential as a modern big man capable of spacing the floor and protecting the rim to a remarkable degree.
And the Herd get a true seven-footer that can help them overcome the size disadvantages that may come along in what’s left of the regular season and as they aspire to take this year’s G League title. Don’t get me wrong, playing as small as the Herd have done under head coach Chase Buford has been an incredibly viable strategy and the overall positional versatility has been passed on down from the Bucks via head coach Mike Budenholzer.
With Patton in the fold, the Herd likely won’t miss a beat with being able to replicate the scheme and tactics instituted at the next level as the 22-year-old is tailor-made to protect the rim in the drop-back coverage scheme that’s made Brook Lopez as valuable of a defender with the Bucks. Whether Patton can expand his range from beyond the arc may be the bigger question, considering he’s only attempted 93 3-point attempts on the G League level.
And who knows, maybe this opportunity lays down the foundation towards the Bucks giving Patton a chance to resuscitate his career at the big stage by making an investment in him beyond the G League, provided he performs well in Oshkosh over the next several weeks.
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Whether the addition of Patton will fortify the Herd on the court as it theoretically does on paper remains to be seen, but it’s quite the move for the G League title contender all the same.