Wisconsin Herd: Will opting out of G League bubble affect development?

According to a report from Hoops Rumors, the Wisconsin Herd are planning to opt out of the proposed G League bubble, which is set to get underway soon.

Fans of the Milwaukee Bucks‘ G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, will have to wait longer to see the Herd in action.

First reported by JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors Monday evening, the Herd are preparing to opt out of the proposed G League bubble that would serve as the 2021 G League season.

The Wisconsin Herd (Bucks) plan to opt out of the proposed NBA G League bubble, sources tell @HoopsRumors. They’ll become the 10th franchise thus far.
— JD Shaw (@JShawNBA) December 28, 2020

While details are still emerging as to which affiliates will participate in the proposed bubble, the Herd opting out doesn’t come as much of a surprise, given the radio silence to their status up until last night.

With the Wisconsin Herd opting out of the G League bubble, the Milwaukee Bucks will have to prioritize developing their rookies and two-way players in other avenues.

As Bucks general manager Jon Horst talked about with reporters last week, the organization was weighing many factors in their decision and keeping all 16 players in-house proved to be a decisive factor:

"“The Herd has done an incredible job the last few years and will continue to be a really, really beneficial part of our program and an asset to our program. But with a lot of the restrictions with staffing and COVID and everything that goes on, there’s an argument to say that the best development for those guys will to be as close to us as possible this year. But also, whether it’s with the Herd, or if not with the Herd, with different teams in that bubble, getting guys opportunities and exposure to play, to play five-on-five basketball and competitive basketball if they’re not getting that at the Bucks level, that is something we’re considering as we try to weigh these options of whether or not to be part of the G-league bubble.”"

That obviously is key in maintaining the health for all of their players. And if iron truly sharpens iron, getting practice reps against the Bucks’ rotation players and cornerstones could be incredibly beneficial for the Bucks’ pair of rookies, for example.

But as we’re seeing both Sam Merrill and Jordan Nwora on the outside of the team’s rotation, there will have to earn their minutes without the fallback of earning assignments up to Oshkosh.

That’s much different from what we’ve seen with the likes of Dragan Bender, Sterling Brown, D.J. Wilson or Christian Wood in recent years who have unlocked their respective developments with minutes on assignment in the G League. For the likes of Jaylen Adams and Mamadi Diakite, the former who was runner up in G League voting, it leaves them without a chance to grow their games further in hopes of earning a standard NBA contract next offseason.

There is no question that this decision wasn’t made lightly and ultimately, the proposed length of the season and the status of the pandemic are factors too significant to ignore here.

But there will be ramifications of not having some version of the Herd playing this season. And with the organization making a priority to extend their program down to the G League level, the Herd’s success and track record under head coach Chase Buford proved to be a big asset for the Bucks last season as a whole.

For both Merrill and Nwora specifically, they’re under two-year contracts, and Merrill’s deal being partially guaranteed for next season, raises the urgency in which to perform and found his place in Milwaukee specifically.

With the Bucks having reshaped their internal development over the offseason, they now have one less avenue to evolve their games this season. As the Bucks aspire to reach their goal of a championship this season, being able to nurture the prospects they have will now have to be done in more unconventional ways.