Even as the enter the final week of the 2020-21 season, the Milwaukee Bucks still remain focused on tinkering their roster after a year full of making moves.
While we wait for official confirmation from the team themselves, Elijah Bryant has signed a two-year deal with the Bucks that reportedly sees them waiving forward Rodions Kurucs in a corresponding move.
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Bryant finally comes to Milwaukee after plenty of interest from the Bucks’ side for several months and perhaps even dating back to the time that the 26-year-old suited up for Milwaukee in their last Summer League run in Las Vegas.
Now while time is short on Bryant making any sort of impact for the Bucks this season, the opportunity is certainly there for Bryant to carve out a role next season after having started off his professional playing overseas in Israel over the last three years.
So without further ado, let’s explore what all Elijah Bryant now brings to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Elijah Bryant brings plenty of shooting to the Milwaukee Bucks
As Bucks fans are well aware of, even in the limited time that he previously donned a Bucks uniform, Bryant brings the kind of sharpshooting Milwaukee is always looking for. For frame of reference, Bryant averaged 14.2 points on 18-for-34 shooting from the field (52.9 percent), 6-for-12 from deep, 4 rebounds and 3.2 assists in his four Summer League appearances with the Bucks.
Between his time playing for Hapoel Eilat and Maccabi Tel Aviv, Bryant shot 164-for-448 (36.6 percent) across all competitions over the last three seasons in Israel. That number comes on a 38.5 3-point attempt rate as well, which reinforces just how willing Bryant is in letting fly from that range.
Of course, those numbers need a little context due to shorter 3-point line that exists in international basketball. There obviously will be an adjustment period of some sort for Bryant as he gets used to shooting from NBA range, among everything else that is in need of adjusting to in such a transition.
Luckily, though, Bryant bring plenty of dynamic shooting skills as he’s equally capable of rising and firing off the dribble as he is from shooting at a standstill. Given the system that the Bucks have deployed under head coach Mike Budenholzer, Bryant will have plenty of freedom and opportunities to showcase his shooting if given a role.
Elijah Bryant brings polished scoring to the Milwaukee Bucks
While he brings an added dose of shooting that will factor into any potential role he’ll have with the Bucks, Bryant’s scoring pedigree was on display throughout his stints in Israel.
That was definitely evident in the starring role Bryant carved out in his lone year for Hapoel Eilat in 2018-19 as he averaged 17.5 points on .558/.359/.767 shooting, along with 5.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Doing all of that on a career-high 65.2 true shooting percentage and a 22.2 usage percentage and it’s safe to say Bryant emerged on the radar of numerous clubs around the world.
Following his brief run with the Bucks during the summer of 2019, Bryant joined Israeli powerhouse, Maccabi Tel Aviv, and took on more of a supporting role in the process. Although that required an adjustment period for Bryant after taking on such a lead role previously, the BYU product still fought through the ups and downs as time went along and in the face of the coronavirus pandemic disrupting his time with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Bryant averaged 8.9 points on .454/.349/.780 shooting, along with 3.5 rebounds, 2 assists and a 54.8 true shooting percentage in 49 appearances over the 2019-20 season. This season saw Bryant’s numbers improve all across the board as he averaged 10.9 points on .477/.387/.840 shooting, 3.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and a 58.7 true shooting percentage.
The fact that Bryant stands as a capable shot creator both on and off the ball would certainly work well in the freeform offense that the Bucks deploy under Mike Budenholzer. And while Bryant’s decision making has to improve elsewhere as evidenced by his 1.36 assist-to-turnover ratio, the scoring cache he brings will provide a jolt within Milwaukee’s backcourt.
Elijah Bryant comes to the Milwaukee Bucks as an improved defender
For the scoring prowess and shooting skills he brings to the table, how Bryant will fare on the defensive end will go a long way in determining how successful his time in Milwaukee will be.
The good news on that front is that Bryant has made significant strides as a defender, especially since joining Maccabi Tel Aviv ahead of the 2019-20 season. Bryant brings great positional size by standing at 6’5″ and 6’9″ wingspan and great foot speed and it was clear that he had the tools to succeed within a defensive-minded team like Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Take these comments made by Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos in October of 2019 to Joshua Halickman of the Sports Rabbi when assessing Bryant’s defensive abilities after a big EuroLeague win over Fenerbahce:
"“If you see the plus/minus ranking Elijah had a +18 which was the best on the team,” Sfairpoulos excitedly told me following the game. “I think he has a big future ahead. He is getting Euroleague experience now after we watched him last year. His defense is unbelievable. Last year he was mainly scoring and this year he adjusted to our style and philosophy which is to play good defense first and then score. I think every week and month that goes by he will get better and better.”"
With that said, Bryant’s advanced defensive numbers paint a different picture year over year. Bryant posted a 2.8 steal percentage in 2019-20 that tumbled down to 1.9 steal percentage this season. However, much of that can be explained to the struggles that Maccabi Tel Aviv has gone through this year.
While it may be some time before we see Bryant earn any sort of playing time with the Bucks, it’s clear that they have valued Bryant and his development overseas for some time now. We’ll just have to see whether he gets the opportunity to blossom even further next season.