It will be fascinating to see what the Milwaukee Bucks do this off-season regarding their roster.
They were recently chasing the biggest fish on the market in Bradley Beal, who landed with the Phoenix Suns. With Beal out of the picture, the likelihood of the Bucks landing another star is very unlikely, but there are still some solid names out there who could make the Bucks stronger. One of those names is Memphis Grizzlies’ guard Tyus Jones.
Action Network’s Matt Moore fully expects Jones to be on a new team by the time summer ends. With starting point guard Ja Morant set to miss 25 games due to a suspension to start next year, this news is a bit strange from Memphis’ perspective. Still, if they are willing to move Jones over the next few months, the Bucks should be a prominent suitor.
The Milwaukee Bucks must get involved in the latest Grizzlies trade rumors
The Bucks would benefit from having a pure point guard in their starting lineup. Jrue Holiday has been fine in that role, but he’s more of a combo guard and played the best basketball of his NBA career as a two-guard with the New Orleans Pelicans. At times, especially in the playoffs, it felt like Holiday struggled due to all of the tasks he had to juggle, which typically involved guarding the other team’s top player while also being asked to lead the offense. Adding a true point guard may be the answer to eliminating or at least lessening Holiday’s struggles.
When it comes to realistic options for the Bucks, it would be hard to find one better than Jones at this very moment. The guard has established himself as one of the best reserves in the business and is coming off a year where he averaged 10.2 points, 5.2 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game, all of which were new career highs. His facilitating would be a huge boost in Milwaukee’s lineup, freeing up players like Giannis Antetokopunmpo and Holiday to do more elsewhere.
A major thing about Jones that stands out is how smart he is with the ball, as he rarely turns it over. He hasn’t averaged a turnover per game yet in his career. He averaged 0.9 this past year, which is extremely impressive when averaging 5.2 assists. The Bucks have been known to be a tad sluggish when it comes to taking care of the basketball and limiting turnovers, so adding a player like Jones would certainly help cut that down.
The biggest knock on Jones is that he’s an undersized guard at 6-feet tall. That’s problematic to an extent, especially on the defensive end, where the guard could be targeted. It’s a valid concern. Yet, there is certainly still plenty of positives to consider when it comes to Jones.
Jones is on the books for an expiring $14 million this season, which makes him a reasonable target for the Bucks financially. It’s unclear what the Grizzlies may want in return for the guard if they are really looking to deal him, but the Bucks should kick the tires.
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