The Milwaukee Bucks have nine free agents heading into the 2023 NBA free agency period, which includes wings Khris Middleton who has a $40 million player option, Wesley Matthews, Joe Ingles, and Jae Crowder, who are all unrestricted free agents.
Milwaukee needs help at the wing position, as Middleton will likely look for more lucrative deals elsewhere. Milwaukee is over the salary cap and can’t afford to give him a long-term contract as they did in the past. Matthews will be 37 by next season, and while he’s a capable defender, he only played in 52 games for Milwaukee.
Jae Crowder didn’t look like the same player while in Milwaukee, and he publicly questioned his role after receiving little playing time in the postseason. Joe Ingles provided another ball-handler for Milwaukee, but he lost a step defensively since coming back from an ACL injury last season.
Why the Bucks should reignite their interest in Dillon Brooks
Milwaukee needs to get younger at the wing position, so what player would fit that mold for the Bucks? Dillon Brooks. Brooks served as an outspoken member of the Memphis Grizzlies for the past six seasons, and while he’s drawn the ire for his trash talk but he’s a capable defender and a career 41 percent shooter.
The Bucks were recently linked to Brooks in the rumors mill after The Athletic’s Shams Charania stated that they were interested in trading for him this past season. It did not happen, but here are three reasons why the Bucks should reignite their interest in Brooks this off-season.
1- His defensive acumen
Milwaukee lost to the Miami Heat in five games because they couldn’t find a defender to stay in front of Jimmy Butler.
Middleton never looked like the same guy, particularly on the defensive end, since coming back from his knee injury. Matthews was fine, but he won’t be your starting shooting guard next season. Crowder and Ingles couldn’t keep up with Butler; Brooks would immediately solve all of their problems.
Brooks isn’t the most offensively efficient player, but neither was P.J. Tucker. That kind of player is what Milwaukee has been the past two seasons; they need a guy who is a little taller and will guard the other team’s best wing player.
Jrue Holiday is an elite defender, but it shouldn’t have been up to him to stop Jimmy Butler one-on-one because Butler is a taller player at 6-foot-8; Holiday is 6-foot-5. Milwaukee didn’t have that guy who is out there for the sole purpose of stopping the best player.
Per NBA.com/stats, Memphis had the third-best defensive rating in the league during the regular season, and that was with defensive anchors Brandon Clarke and Steven Adams missing time. Milwaukee ranked third, and if they secured Brooks from Memphis, they wouldn’t miss a beat defensively.
Signing Dillon Brooks would be a good regular-season signing, but it would be more important for the playoffs, as Milwaukee needs to find another guy outside of Jrue Holiday who can bring that defensive versatility. Brooks would fill that need and more for Milwaukee.
2- His trash talking
Dillon Brooks is a classic case of hating to play against him, but you love him on your team.
That edge has been the reason why Brooks has stuck around the league for the past six seasons, but while I don’t mind the trash-talking, he should save it for on the court, not off.
People don’t have a problem with playing with an edge, but they do have a problem giving the other teams bulletin board material in the media than going out as a unit and laying an egg.
What compounded matters was in the series against the Lakers, in which Brooks called LeBron James old; you can’t choose to then not to talk to the media afterward. People didn’t have a problem with Dillon Brooks before the season, but they do now after the report that Memphis wouldn’t bring him back “under any circumstances.” (Via The Athletic’s Shams Charania) Now it’s open season on the criticism of Dillon Brooks.
Milwaukee has veteran leaders like Bobby Portis, Giannis, and Jrue Holiday to reign in to keep his trash talk on the court, not off, and let him know that talk is cheap. Let your play do the talking.
If Brooks can do that, he’d be vital to the Milwaukee Bucks.
3- He can contribute to winning basketball
In 2019, Milwaukee let Malcolm Brogdon leave in free agency and signed Wesley Matthews to serve as a replacement of sorts for Brogdon.
Matthews wasn’t the offensive player that Brogdon was, but he was an elite-level defender who took on the challenge of guarding the opposing team’s best wing player.
A similar situation would arise if Brooks signed in Milwaukee as he’s not the offensive player that Middleton is, but his defense is elite, and slotting him next to Jrue Holiday would be a lethal one-two punch on the defensive end.
Offensively, Brooks is a solid mid-range player as he’s a career 41 percent shooter. The let-it-fly era for the Bucks hasn’t worked in the past two postseasons, and with a new coach, they might want to go to a new offensive scheme that focuses more on playing inside-out basketball.
There’s a reason why Brooks was a key member of those Grizzlies teams. He played with heart and contributed to how good the Grizzlies were the past two seasons. He can do the same thing in Milwaukee, but this time being surrounded by veteran leaders who have helped sustain the success in Milwaukee for a long period of time.
It’ll be interesting to see if Brooks is on the Bucks’ off-season wish list.