The Milwaukee Bucks ended the 2020-21 season with its first NBA championship in 50 years.
Entering the offseason, the Bucks had their work cut out for them to maintain that same level of excellence and remain a true title contender. Due to budgetary constraints and lack of cap space, general manager Jon Horst and the Bucks were going to be forced to make some tough decisions on important contributors from their title run.
Today we’re going to dive into the off-season and analyze how the roster shook out (position by position) – determining if they improved, got worse, or stayed the same.
Milwaukee Bucks: Analyzing each position heading into 2021-22 season – Primary ball-handlers
2020-2021: Jrue Holiday, Jeff Teague.
2021-2022: Jrue Holiday, George Hill, Tremont Waters, Justin Robinson.
Offseason additions: Signed George Hill – Two years, $8 million, signed Tremont Waters, signed Justin Robinson.
Departures: Jeff Teague
With all due respect, Jeff Teague just wasn’t a point guard that you could rely on for extended minutes in the playoffs. It was apparent that his best days were behind him. He was good enough to be a regular season rotational player, but nothing more once rotations shrunk in the playoffs. Milwaukee was going to need more than that, so the decision to pursue an upgrade was truly a no-brainer.
Once free agency began, the Bucks were able to secure the services of George Hill who is the better player on both ends of the floor. He’s someone that can play either guard spot effectively and provide length to disrupt the passing lanes on defense. His shooting ability is well documented and will make him a strong addition to the rotation as a floor-spacing backup to starting guard Jrue Holiday.
It was important for Milwaukee to upgrade their backup point guard role, and the low-risk/cost effective addition of Hill filled that need. Justin Robinson and Tremont Waters will likely not see much time, if any, in the primary rotation, leaving it up to the two veterans in Holiday and Hill.