Milwaukee Bucks: Gauging the stock of their impending free agents

Gauging the stock of the Milwaukee Bucks’ impending free agents – Frank Mason III

The first of the Bucks’ two-way players, Frank Mason III put in quite the performance in his first season in Milwaukee.

Landing with the Bucks in July of 2019 after two years with the Sacramento Kings, Mason played a leading role for the Bucks’ G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, as they held the best record in the G League this season. And for his starring contributions, which included leading the G League in scoring with 25.3 points per game on .502/.418/.805 splits, Mason was crowned this year’s G League MVP.

Mason also had the good fortune of making limited appearances with the Bucks throughout the regular season and seeding games where he largely set up the tempo for their offense, both in garbage time and on those occasional rest nights. Mason even had a two-minute cameo in Game 1 against the Miami Heat with Eric Bledsoe out due to a hamstring injury and played a total of 120 NBA minutes on the year, regular season and postseason combined.

Provided the Bucks extend a qualifying offer to the 26-year-old, Mason will be a restricted free agent this offseason and that is quite the chip in their back pocket. With the Bucks reportedly in the market to upgrade their backcourt, beef up their playmaking and rumors swirling around Eric Bledsoe, the Bucks’ thinnest position on their depth chart may have a makeover.

If the Bucks value Mason and his skill set, they have the inside track to offer a standard NBA deal to the former Jayhawk for a high-value contract to fill out their roster and maintain some continuity at point guard. After all, Mason did everything he could to warrant consideration for more minutes at the NBA level this season.

But given how the Bucks have operated with their two-way players historically, that may be a little bit of wishful thinking. Either way, the reigning G League MVP may very well get a look from some team around the league.