Milwaukee Bucks: Why George Hill is the most important new acquisition

MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 02: (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 02: (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve been eagerly anticipating the return of the Milwaukee Bucks, even in preseason fashion, since the day after they won the championship. Then, once they made their free agency and trade acquisitions, I got even more excited.

While I’m most excited to see how a guy like Grayson Allen fits in, the most important acquisition this offseason was being able to bring back George Hill. Despite his advanced age at 35-years-old and a less than stellar playoff run with the Philadelphia 76ers, there’s still a lot that Hill can help with as an incredibly important part of the rotation, which he proved to be in his previous stint with the Bucks.

Although I believe Semi Ojeleye is the big X-Factor among the Bucks’ acquisitions, that’s because there’s some variance in how he could perform. He hasn’t shown enough consistency in his offensive game and that’s why he could be one of the “make or break” players this year.

When looking at Hill, you know what you’re going to get and that’s why he’s so important. I have a lot of faith that what we saw from Hill with the Sixers is not the Hill that is coming back to the Bucks. It was a tough year for the 13-year veteran last season, but he’s back with a team and coach he’s comfortable with, so there’s a lot of expectations.

Why George Hill is the Milwaukee Bucks’ most important offseason acquisition

It would have been incredibly easy for the Bucks to see how they won in last year’s playoffs, try to copy and paste a similar roster, and call it a day. That would include bringing in another stop-gap point guard — like Jeff Teague — after the failed D.J. Augustin experiment, but general manager Jon Horst didn’t want to simply sit on his laurels. He knew that if the Bucks wanted to have a better chance to repeat, they couldn’t simply do what they did last year.

Thus, they went out and signed Hill to a pretty sizeable contract that used up most of their taxpayer mid-level exception. That contract alone suggests that the Bucks believe they needed Hill back and how valuable they believe his veteran presence and on-court abilities are.

It’s true that Jrue Holiday is a more reliable and consistent option than the former starter when Hill was first with the Bucks, Eric Bledsoe, so Hill may not have the same responsibility as before. But as we saw in the Bucks playoff run, when they lost Donte DiVincenzo and didn’t have many other ball-handling options after the big three.

That’s why it’s so important to know what you’re getting with a player like Hill as opposed to bringing in a player like Augustin or another veteran who might not fit what the Bucks want to do. This isn’t to say Hill is the only backup point guard who fits, but for a team trying to win again and with limited resources to acquire an impact rotation player, you have to make sure you get it right.

The Bucks were lucky to be able to get out of the Augustin contract, but they very well could have been looking at a backup point guard making around $7 million for this season and next. That would have made it increasingly difficult to add players like Allen and make the team better.

Another reason why Hill is so important is not just to backup Holiday, but to play alongside him. Hill and Holiday are both guards who don’t necessarily see themselves as true point guards. That mindset will help when playing together, something Horst expects them to do throughout the season. Even at 35, Hill is still a solid defender with a bigger body and can help when the Bucks want to play smaller lineups by giving them more ball-handling without too much compromise on defense.

There’s an emphasis this season on how the Bucks are going to be better by winning differently than they did last season. There was far too much stagnation in their offense in the playoffs, which came from a lack of reliable ball-handlers and forcing them to play more one-on-one basketball. Adding guys like Hill and Allen, to a lesser extent, help create more avenues for better ball movement.

The Bucks aren’t built to score in isolation basketball for long stretches, and that’s part of the reason why the offense looked ugly against the Brooklyn Nets. Hill gives Mike Budenholzer another ball-handler who can get the Bucks into their offense and keep moving the ball.

Instead of leaning into a defense-heavy approach, Horst saw that there was an opportunity to add to the offense, especially in the halfcourt, which dropped to a league-average level last year in the playoffs, per Cleaning the Glass. They’ll still maintain a strong team defense, but it was imperative that if they wanted to beat the Nets again, they’d have to be better on offense and adding Hill was a way to make the offense better and no sacrifice on defense, making him the most important addition this offseason.

The Bucks could have gone a number of different routes to fill their backup point guard void, but Hill is absolutely the best option to do so.