Analyzing the Milwaukee Bucks’ offseason after draft and free agency

After the Milwaukee Bucks were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs against the Boston Celtics, there were varying opinions about what the team needed to do going forward. Some believed that a big upgrade was needed, whereas others (probably most) thought that the team as constructed was good enough to be back in the Finals if Khris Middleton never got hurt.

There were definitely some small potential holes and weaknesses that were exposed when Middleton went down. First, the Bucks needed better play out of the backup point guard position. George Hill struggled a ton in the series against the Celtics, putting up a grand total of five points, six rebounds, and three assists in 76 minutes (yes those are totals, not averages). They had another option at the position in Jevon Carter who, for unknown reasons, barely saw the floor in the series, and was set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. It was unknown whether the Bucks would bring him back or how they would handle their backup point guard position.

Another small need the Bucks had was another ball handler and creator off the bench. The Bucks have filled their team with role players who can shoot and defend, but not a ton of guys can create offense for themselves or others outside of Joe Ingles who will be out for a while recovering from his ACL injury. Middleton was someone the Bucks relied on a ton for offensive creation, and without him, nobody else aside from Giannis Antetokounmpo could step up and do that.

Next, the Bucks could’ve used some more length and athleticism on the wing last season. Again, their wings are typically solid shooters, but don’t always have the length to be fantastic defensively or the athleticism to do much other than shoot offensively.

Lastly, becoming younger was something many have been thinking about. Obviously Giannis is only 27 years old and the Bucks should have him for a long time. But Khris Middleton is about to turn 31, Jrue Holiday just turned 32, Brook Lopez is 34, and Wesley Matthews is 35. The Bucks may need to think about developing some youth so that they are still in good shape when those guys are past their primes.

Before looking into new players they were going to acquire to help fill these needs, the Bucks had to decide on what to do with some of their own free agents.