After opening up several roster spots in their trade for Serge Ibaka, the Milwaukee Bucks were bound to bring in some reinforcements, which is precisely what they did with a move yesterday.
As first reported by ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, Milwaukee has made the signing of guard DeAndre’ Bembry official after reporting on Tuesday that the two sides were close on a deal. The 27-year-old was waived by the Brooklyn Nets in the aftermath of the massive Ben Simmons trade this past Thursday, and he always seemed like a feasible buyout target for the Bucks. Now that he is officially on the team, let us break down the Bembry signing and give it a grade.
The financial aspect of DeAndre’ Bembry’s deal with the Milwaukee Bucks
According to Spotrac, Bembry’s deal with the Bucks is worth $601,867 for the remainder of the season, and he will become a free agent this offseason. Considering he is signing with the Bucks fresh off a buyout, the terms of this deal should not be surprising. The forward took a minimum deal to play out the rest of the season for a contender, which is typically what happens in these types of mid-season situations.
For the Bucks, this is a low-risk move from a financial perspective. They needed to fill the vacant spots on their roster, and a recognizable name like Bembry is a solid pick-up on a deal such as this one. They will now have an experienced player that can give them quality minutes on a minimum deal, which is a huge plus for a championship-contending team that has so much money tied up elsewhere on the roster.
Financially, this is as good as it gets for the Bucks.
Looking at DeAndre’ Bembry’s fit with the Milwaukee Bucks
When the Bucks are healthy, there might be some question marks as to where exactly Bembry fits in the rotation. However, this roster is far from healthy right now as they are currently dealing with injuries to a handful of important pieces.
Pat Connaughton, who has been Milwaukee’s best bench player this season, will be sidelined for the next four weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured fourth metacarpal on his right hand. George Hill is also set to miss extended time with ongoing neck issues, which has kept him out of the lineup for most of the month. Wesley Matthews was the latest addition to Milwaukee’s injury report after missing Tuesday’s game with toe soreness. In addition to those three players, Grayson Allen is now dealing with hip soreness, which forced him to exit Tuesday’s game early.
With four members of Milwaukee’s typical rotation sidelined, Bembry can come in and carve out a role for himself immediately. Due to these injuries, the Bucks have relied heavily on their youth lately, with second-year small forward Jordan Nwora and rookie two-way guard Lindell Wigginton seeing far more playing time than usual. Due to his experience and previous time spent with coach Mike Budenholzer during their time together with the Atlanta Hawks, Bembry will likely overtake Nwora and Wigginton in the rotation.
As the Bucks await reinforcements in the form of Allen, Connaughton, Hill, and Matthews, Bembry can be a regular in the second unit rotation. Things will surely have to be adjusted once the Bucks get healthier, but for now, Bembry fits perfectly with this shorthanded bench.
Looking at DeAndre’ Bembry’s role with the Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks will not rely heavily on Bembry, especially when they get healthier, but he has a chance to be a meaningful contributor off the bench.
Defensively, Bembry will bring more versatility for coach Budenholzer to utilize in various lineups. Standing at 6-foot-5 with an intriguing 6-foot-9 wingspan, Bembry can be utilized as a reputable wing defender for the Bucks, taking on top-tier assignments nightly. Without two robust second unit defenders in Connaughton and Matthews, Bembry’s defense will be crucial for the time being as he could help fill the void. Bembry’s versatility will make him an easy fit alongside Milwaukee’s reputable defenders in Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, which will make them even stronger on that side of the ball.
Offensively, Bembry will not bring much to the table as he has averaged just 6.1 points per game in his six-year career. However, one interesting part of Bembry’s game that will be worth watching is his 3-point shooting, as it could go either way. Prior to this season, the swingman was knocking down just 28.1 percent of his 3-pointers on 1.5 attempts per game. This year, that percentage has catapulted up to 41.7, although he attempted just 0.8 triples on average. If the swingman can pick up where he left off and be an efficient outside shooter, it will help him stay out on the floor. With Antetokounmpo on the court, the looks are bound to be there, but it is up to Bembry to capitalize.
Essentially, the Bucks will utilize Bembry the same way they used P.J. Tucker when he was brought aboard last season. Though Bembry is not on the same level as Tucker, he is a similar archetype as he can match up against a handful of different positions and is capable of spacing the floor on the offensive end. Matthews had been playing that role this season, but with him out of the lineup for who knows how long, Bembry must fill in for the time being.
An overall grade on the Milwaukee Bucks’ signing of DeAndre’ Bembry
Overall, the best way to describe this deal would be solid. It is not a needle-tipping move, but it is far from a bad one. While he will not stuff the stat sheet nightly, Bembry can immediately help the shorthanded Bucks as they await help from a handful of their regular rotational players by simply being available to play. If he can play defense and knock down an occasional wide-open 3-pointer, this signing should pay dividends rather quickly.
Many were clamoring for the Bucks to scour the market for a two-way wing, and they now have one in Bembry. For the time being, Bembry will likely play somewhere between 15-20 minutes per night, with the Bucks primarily utilizing him defensively. Who knows, perhaps Bembry could even be an upgrade over Matthews for the Bucks, who was having an outright abysmal February before suffering the toe injury. They are very similar players, and with Bembry being eight years younger, he could potentially be an improvement. That is up for debate, but whatever the case might be, no contender has ever complained about having too many two-way wings.
The second unit has been a massive weakness for the Bucks this season, and hopefully Bembry can help change that upon arrival. With Ibaka coming off the bench alongside Bembry and the Bucks in hot pursuit of the recently bought-out Goran Dragić, this unit could look far different soon. Right now, the signing of Bembry looks like a good one, although it is not a seismic change.
BTBP Grade: B+
Stay tuned to find out how the Milwaukee Bucks may look to improve their roster further in the buyout market over the next few weeks.