As the Milwaukee Bucks head into the All-Star break, a few recent injuries, as well as a trade, have created a sizable hole in their wing and guard depth.
The expectation was that they’d fill those gaps with buyout market players, but as we’ve seen so far, there hasn’t been much activity on that front. They were able to scoop up DeAndre’ Bembry after he was let go by the Brooklyn Nets, but there haven’t been many other notable names.
Well, aside from one: Goran Dragić. After being traded to the San Antonio Spurs, the veteran point guard reached a buyout and has been a hot commodity with many contenders trying to secure his services. As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported earlier today, “foremost” among those teams is the Bucks.
Update from Adrian Wojnarowski on the Milwaukee Bucks’ efforts to sign Goran Dragić
It’s no surprise that the Bucks are going after Dragić, he’s the biggest name on the buyout market and they need him with George Hill missing a significant amount of time and trading away Donte DiVincenzo.
We’ve discussed on this here website why Dragić would be a player worth pursuing and where he would fit on the Bucks.
As Wojnarowski reported, the Bucks have been very aggressive in trying to sign Dragić.
"“They need guard depth. There’s an opportunity for Goran Dragić to come in, play some meaningful minutes for the Bucks and certainly have a chance to have a run in the playoffs. … Dragic, I think, is closer to a decision but Milwaukee’s been aggressive and they can offer him, not just a chance at being a part of the defending champions, but a chance to play a pretty significant role and I think that’s really been their sell to him, Mike Budenholzer and Jon Horst, as they talk to him.”"
In that report, Wojnarowski does clarify that the Bucks aren’t the only team after Dragic (as you’d expect). The Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, Brooklyn Nets, and even the Los Angeles Lakers have all been involved with Dragić as well.
But what may separate the Bucks from that group is the chance for Dragić to play real, meaningful minutes on, not just a contender, but the defending champs.
As I said, the Bucks have lost a good chunk of their guard depth recently and Dragić would have the chance to slide in and play minutes right away. No disrespect to Lindell Wigginton, who I think has done a fantastic job recently, but Dragić would represent a solid upgrade.
Milwaukee’s incumbent backup point guard, Hill, has missed the last nine games with neck soreness and there doesn’t appear to be any timetable for when he’ll return. Despite his poor shooting, Hill has been very solid this season and the Bucks consistently win his minutes and I argued for why they didn’t need an upgrade over him.
Well, you can argue whether or not Dragić would be an upgrade but if Hill isn’t playing, the Bucks need someone to take some of the ball-handling duties when any of the big three (primarily Jrue Holiday) is off the floor. Also, they’re 9-10 without Hill this season so it’s pretty obvious they need something resembling a backup point guard/ball handler now that DiVincenzo’s gone.
Now that doesn’t mean Dragic has to sign with the Bucks or that it’s even likely, but it’s interesting that Wojnarowski focused on how aggressive the Bucks have been in courting the 35-year-old Slovenian. There’s no doubt that he’d help the Bucks in any capacity if he were to sign with them.
Stay tuned for any and all updates on the potential Dragić-to-Milwaukee situation.