Milwaukee Bucks Roundtable: Digging into their busy offseason

Due to the Holiday trade, among other things, the Milwaukee Bucks overhauled their depth considerably in free agency. Which depth addition do you feel is most vital to their chances to contend next season?

Sell: The Bucks brought in several stellar pieces to fill out their depth this offseason, but I feel like Torrey Craig is the one that could be the most important. His ability to defend some of the elite wings in this league is a substantial addition for the Bucks. The forward is coming off a playoff run where he took the assignments of guarding Donovan Mitchell, Kawhi Leonard, and LeBron James, meaning that he had his work cut out for him.

Last year, Wesley Matthews played such a role for the Bucks, but has departed his hometown to join the reigning champs in the Los Angeles Lakers. Replacing his presence on the defensive end would be a tall task, but Craig is an ideal fit without question. He might not do much for the Bucks offensively, but he will surely make up for it on the other end of the floor.

Treske: I’ve thought about this quite a lot over the last week and it’s hard to go with anyone else but D.J. Augustin.

For starters, Augustin likely has the biggest pathway towards seeing extended minutes over the season, given the lack of guard depth behind Jrue Holiday. Now will he be able to offer up the same efficient, scoring punch we had come to expect from George Hill? Hitting that standard may be a little too high for anyone, let alone Augustin, but we saw how Hill coming back down to earth from 3-point range affected the Bucks’ offense when it mattered most.

I have no doubt we’ll see plenty of lineups with both Augustin and Holiday over the course of the year, but Augustin’s ability to hold up defensively will prove to be to be the biggest hurdle for when he’s out on the floor during crunch time minutes.

Wood: It is hard not to agree with Dalton and Jordan. Craig will assume Matthews’ responsibilities as a primary defender on the wing, and Augustin will probably see the most playing time of their potential reserves. But, I will go with the wild card of the group in Bobby Portis.

The five-year pro out of Arkansas has the ability, and it is up to the Bucks’ coaching staff to harness that talent. Last year, the Bucks’ second unit struggled mightily in the postseason. If Portis can be someone who can put the ball in the bucket, and he is not lacking the confidence to shoot it, then he becomes a valuable part of Milwaukee’s reconfigured bench. Portis is a streaky shooter, but may be the X-factor for this Bucks team’s depth.

Having stated I like all three of these acquisitions, I think it benefits Coach Budenholzer to have LESS options in the postseason. The fact that the Bucks were still going ten deep in the second round of playoffs still baffles my mind.

Schickert: My answer is the same as Jordan’s as I’ll also go with DJ Augustin. Having written an article that featured Augustin as one of the best options the Bucks could pursue with their mid-level exception deal going into free agency, Augustin fits with the roster and looks to be a great fit to back up Holiday. Bucks fans got to see a lot of Augustin in the first round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs and his shooting prowess and willing playmaking capabilities makes me picture him slotting right into the role George Hill had in his stay with the Bucks.

Rauman: With the Bucks losing multiple ball handlers and creators this offseason, the addition of D.J. Augustin will play an important role in Milwaukee’s quest for a championship.

While the loss of George Hill will hurt, Augustin brings an offensive punch that the Bucks lacked off the bench last season and that often to the offensive stagnation that doomed the Bucks in the playoffs when the Bucks’ core players took a breather. As much as some people are downplaying Augustin’s potential impact in the playoffs due to his defensive deficiencies, a major flaw of the Bucks roster last year was the lack of creators and reliable ball handlers when the playoffs came around, especially with Bledsoe and Donte DiVincenzo falling off a cliff offensively.

Replacing Bledsoe with Jrue and Hill with Augustin should ensure that Bucks will have at least one more reliable creator, and perhaps an additional upgrade offensively over Hill.