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

6. Re-signed Jae Crowder

Signed Jae Crowder to a 1-year, minimum contract

Jae Crowder is exactly the sort of player the Milwaukee Bucks should be adding to their team. They don’t need high-usage on-ball players; they have Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo. As with most contenders, what they need are 3-and-D players who aren’t afraid of the bright lights and are good enough on both ends not to be a liability.

That’s the player the Bucks went after at the Trade Deadline, sending a whopping five second-round picks out to bring in Crowder. Whether it was rust after sitting out the start of the season or the start of an athletic decline, Crowder played terribly for the Bucks down the stretch and was outside of the rotation when the playoffs rolled around.

Bringing Crowder back on a minimum contract was the best option available to the Bucks. They had already sunk a sack of picks into Crowder, and there’s a chance he can regain the impact he had prior to last season. At his best Crowder is a stout defender and high-volume 3-point shooter, and the Bucks can use a player like that.

There’s a very real chance Crowder is simply on the decline, however, and that this season will be just as bad as last. Shouldn’t the time off have helped him be at his healthiest and highest energy? This is a relatively low-risk move, but it’s also probably unlikely to net a difference-maker. Crowder may just be done as an impact player.

Grade: C+