Offseason Report Card: Bucks get an A, four Bs and three Cs for summer moves

4. Signed Malik Beasley

Signed Malik Beasley to a 1-yr, minimum contract

Malik Beasley is a fascinating test of the NBA maxim that it’s more important to get up 3-pointers than to make them. Is the gravity of a movement shooter and his willingness to let it fly more impactful than the actual points gained by the shot going in? Unintentionally, Beasley has been testing the case the last couple of seasons.

The seven-year guard is one of the league’s most willing shooters, and his form is impeccable. He is crafty at running around screens and then lining up his body on the catch to square him with the basket. The past two seasons he has averaged over 11 3-pointers per 36 minutes, an elite number.

The issue for Beasley is that after shooting 38.8 percent or higher for four-straight seasons, he has been at 37.7 and 35,7 percent the past two seasons, respectively. Add a drop in accuracy to his tissue-paper defense and you have a Los Angeles Lakers team desperate for shooting leaving him entirely outside of the rotation in the playoffs.

The NBA at large decided the drop in accuracy was enough for them to drop Beasley off of their free-agent boards, and that led to a coup of a signing for the Milwaukee Bucks. Adding Beasley at the minimum is a low-risk, high-reward move. The Bucks have the defensive infrastructure to insulate Beasley, and his shot-volume and off-ball gravity will help offensively in a major way. If his accuracy returns? Watch out. This could be the value signing of the summer.

Grade: B+