Milwaukee Bucks: A final grade on their busy offseason

Addressing the Milwaukee Bucks’ depth changes

As much of a foundational change as Jrue Holiday presents to the Bucks’ core both now and hopefully their long-term future, it’s within their bench unit where the Bucks look most different.

With Donte DiVincenzo likely stepping up into the starting lineup, only 1.735 of the Bucks’ 7,207 bench minutes last year are intact due to the returning Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Pat Connaughton and D.J. Wilson. Of the three, Connaughton’s three-year, $16 million deal to re-sign with the Bucks last month came with all sorts of twists and turns and heightened the worries that surfaced for Bucks fans after seeing the Bogdanovic deal go bust.

The likes of Sterling Brown, George Hill, Robin Lopez have headed elsewhere around the league while Ersan Ilyasova, Kyle Korver and Marvin Williams have either gone unsigned or retired in Williams case. In comes D.J. Augustin, Torrey Craig, Bryn Forbes, Bobby Portis, along with the Bucks’ of rookies in Sam Merrill and Jordan Nwora.

Augustin stands as the biggest signing the Bucks made this offseason as the journeyman guard signed a three-year, $21 million deal, though the third and final year of that deal is very slightly guaranteed. Both Forbes and Portis warranted two-year deals with player options on the second year of their respective deals while Craig serves as a one-year flyer.

The slew of additions the Bucks have been integrating during training camp, preseason and now into the start of regular season will never be felt more than what their reshaped bench unit looks like going into 2020-21. And while the list of newcomers all combine to bring the shooting, playmaking and defensive tenacity on paper that the Bucks made a point of adding in the offseason, it has to be seen out on the court obviously.

Who rises to the occasions and make their case to earn significant minutes from Budenholzer over the course of the season will be a big question moving forward and so will be their ability to play off of the Bucks’ cornerstones.