Last season didn’t end the way that the Milwaukee Bucks hoped. After finishing the regular season with the best record in the NBA and entering the playoffs relatively healthy, a run at another title seemed within sight. Then Giannis Antetokounmpo got hurt, the Miami Heat touched the sun, and the Bucks were out in five games.
That forced the Bucks to face the music heading into the offseason. With key members of their core hitting unrestricted free agency, the new CBA putting financial restrictions on contending teams and Mike Budenholzer sent packing, this summer was lining up to be as critical as they get.
How did the Bucks do this offseason?
The Bucks seem to have explored a number of options, from trading for Bradley Beal to churning through their bench. In the end, however, they looked at their team and decided not to break up a contender. They brought back nearly everyone, made some additions around the margins, and decided to run it back.
Was that the right move? And how well did they execute the vision of keeping a contender around Antetokounmpo? Let’s go move-by-move and give the Bucks a grade on each, compiling a report card for them to take back home.
Grades in the ‘A’ range excellently brought together the team’s needs, the value of the move and took advantage of the opportunity (for example, the Bucks never had the scratch to trade for Damian Lillard or the draft equity to take Scoot Henderson). A grade in the ‘B’ range was worth making, a ‘C’ was questionable, a ‘D’ looks like a mistake and a ‘F’ was clearly a disaster, a “Lakers trading for Russell Westbrook” type of trainwreck.
How did Milwaukee do? Let’s start with their best move of the summer.
1. Re-signing Brook Lopez
Brook Lopez signed a 2-year, $48 million contract
The Milwaukee Bucks have won a title and Giannis Antetokounmpo a pair of MVPs because of their superstar’s ability to dominate inside on offense and rove the court on defense. While the ability is all Giannis, the opportunity is largely created because of the presence of Brook Lopez.
Few players in the entire NBA can combine his high-volume 3-point shooting with his defensive dominance in the paint. Lopez is one of the league’s two or three best rim protectors, using his massive size and savvy positioning to completely wall it off from all comers. Driving at the rim with Lopez in the paint is a recipe for disaster.
The Bucks knew that without Lopez they didn’t have a true title-contending roster, not without any mechanism to effectively replace him. Despite his age (35) and position, the Bucks went to the mat to pay him, outbidding teams like the Houston Rockets to hand Lopez $24 million per season.
It likely cost the Bucks more per season to bring back Lopez because they kept the length of the contract at just two years, but he is absolutely worth $24 million next year, and keeping the contract short gives the Bucks much-needed flexibility down the road for when Lopez does drop off. This was the move they had to make, and they did.
Grade: A
2. Re-signing Khris Middleton
Khris Middleton signed a 3-year, $93 million contract
In a similar vein, the Milwaukee Bucks were able to retain Khris Middleton to be Giannis Antetokounmpo’s wingman for at least another couple of seasons. Coming off of an injury-plagued year and entering his age-32 season, the question of whether to back up the truck for Middleton was a real one.
In the end, however, it seems like Middleton didn’t have the tremendous market that many suspected he might. He was the best small forward on the market, but the cap space teams seemed to prioritize different directions in free agency. Without a suitor to drive up the price, Middleton and the Bucks worked out a reasonable deal for both sides.
The Bucks get to keep the band together and hope that Middleton’s knee holds out for another couple of seasons, and they do so at an AAV (Average Annual Value) of just $31 million, with another $9 million total in incentives over the life of the deal. Middleton declining his $40.4 million player option for this season saves the Bucks nearly $12 million in salary for this season.
For Middleton, he secures another large contract but with the optionality to hit the market in two years if he plays well. The third year has a player option, which would allow Middleton to either hit the open market or re-sign for another long-term deal with the Bucks.
Middleton’s injury history is scary, and he could drop off a cliff quickly. This deal was the right compromise of risk and reward, however, and a move they essentially had to make.
Grade: B+
3. Drafted Andre Jackson
Selected UConn wing Andre Jackson Jr. with the 36th pick
The new CBA may have instituted painful restrictions on the league’s most expensive teams, but they also introduced a new element to help teams out on salary as well. The new second-round pick exception allows teams to sign their second-round picks to three and four-year deals without needing to dip into exception money.
The Bucks took full advantage, signing both of their second-rounders to new contracts. Of the two, Andre Jackson Jr. looks like the kind of player who could step in and start contributing immediately. After winning a national championship in college this past season, can he help the Bucks do the same in the NBA?
Livingston is a 6’6″ wing with plus athleticism and some real defensive chops. He can get off the ground for some impressive blocks, and he has the grit and instincts to one day be a high-level perimeter defender. His combination of athleticism and motor make him a great rebounder (he led the team in rebounds in Las Vegas Summer League) and he is a good playmaker and finisher in transition.
He’s somewhat raw offensively, and if his shot can’t be at least passable he will have a hard time seeing the court, as a rookie or period. Still, options in the second round aren’t exactly plentiful, and Jackson looks like the kind of player who teams will regret not taking ahead of Milwaukee’s selection.
Grade: B+
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+
5. Re-signed A.J. Green
Signed A.J. Green to a 3-year, $6.3 million contract
A popular draft sleeper among draftniks in the 2022 NBA Draft was University of Northern Iowa guard A.J. Green, who was a standout college player with the skillset to catch on with an NBA team. The Bucks kept the Iowa native close to home by bringing him in on a two-way contract prior to last season.
Green was never going to play a major role on the contending Bucks, but he somewhat surprisingly did see action in 35 games, including a few games where his 3-pointer was a crucial weapon off the Bucks’ bench. He shot 41.9 percent from 3-point range on a high volume of attempts. He added another 73 attempts in the G League and shot well over 40 percent on those, too.
As the Bucks sought to fill out their bench this summer without breaking the bank, Green got the call-up to the full roster on a three-year deal. The final two seasons are non-guaranteed, but for Green to go from undrafted to a full roster spot in a single year is an impressive feat.
Green has more to offer than simply shooting, and as those supporting skills come along he could be a consistent rotation option for the Bucks. He was a good passer and scorer in college, and he is a solid-enough defender to fit into the Bucks’ scheme well. This was a low-cost, smart signing that could pay real dividends if he is a rotation player for each of the next three seasons.
Grade: B
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+
7. Drafted Chris Livingston
Drafted Kentucky forward Chris Livingston with the 58th pick
The Milwaukee Bucks are filling a roster spot with a low-cost 6’6″ wing; that’s a good plan in a vacuum. They used the 58th pick in the second round on Kentucky’s Chris Livingston, then signed him to a four-year deal for $7.7 million, the most ever for the last pick in the draft.
The question is whether Livingston was worth the roster-spot to begin with. As a young, raw wing who showed very little in college (6.3 points per game) a two-way deal would probably make more sense for Livingston, but the Bucks’ need to keep their salary down pushed them to sign Livingston to a full contract.
To his credit, Livingston played well in Summer League, averaging 10.6 points per game while shooting 51.2 percent from the field, chipping in 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists. The shot is still a major problem (30 percent in college, 27 percent in Las Vegas) and his defense hasn’t matched up to his physical tools yet.
If Livingston can find a way to improve as a shooter, he has the strong frame to hold up defensively and be a rotation player down the road. That won’t be anytime soon, though, and using up a roster spot on a project is a tough ask for a team trying to win a title next season. Rookies don’t usually help a team win anyway, but two guaranteed years for a player ranked outside the top-60 on many draft boards is a major question mark.
Grade: C+
8. Hired Adrian Griffin
Hired Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin to replace Mike Budenholzer
In 2021, the Milwaukee Bucks were reportedly on the cusp of firing head coach Mike Budenholzer after repeated playoff exits. Then Kevin Durant’s toe was on the line, the Bucks made a run to the NBA Finals, and Budenholzer hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy instead of a pink slip.
That bought him a few years, but after failing to reach the Eastern Conference Finals in the two years after the title, Budenholzer was fired this offseason. There is a track record of contending teams firing a head coach and winning with his successor, and that’s what Milwaukee is hoping to do with new head coach Adrian Griffin.
Griffin beat out finalists Nick Nurse and Kenny Atkinson for the job, and he comes to the Bucks after five seasons as an assistant in Toronto. He made his career as a defensive coach, but the Bucks will need to hope he learned some offensive creativity under Nurse.
The Bucks felt they had to make a chance at head coach, but the odds are that Griffin will be a worse coach than Budenholzer was; he had the Bucks in the top-tier of contention for five consecutive seasons. There is a chance Griffin holds this team back from a second title; there’s also a chance he adds the spark needed to propel them back to the NBA Finals. It’s just a much smaller chance.
Grade: C
9. Signed Robin Lopez
Signed center Robin Lopez to a 1-year, minimum contract
The Milwaukee Bucks struggled to find a reliable backup center last season, generally playing Bobby Portis in that role when Brook Lopez was off the court. Serge Ibaka, Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Meyers Leonard all got a crack at the job, and Giannis Antetokounmpo defended a fair number of centers over the course of the season.
It was certainly an area to address this summer, then, and the Bucks responded by signing Robin Lopez to return to the team on a one-year deal at the minimum. The twin brother of Brook Lopez, Robin played last season in Cleveland as their emergency center.
Robin has never been the rim protector that Brook is, but he’s still incredibly large and takes up space inside. On offense, he has a bag of floaters and scoop shots to use around the rim. He won’t space the floor like Brook, but paired with Jae Crowder or Bobby Portis he can hold down the fort inside.
Were there better options available on the free agent market for a backup center? Probably. Mo Bamba, Drew Eubanks and Orlando Robinson all essentially signed for the minimum, and Omer Yurtseven just barely signed for more. Bismack Biyombo, Willy Hernangomez, Meyers Leonard and Neemias Queta are all still available. Each has a reason to be more valuable to the Bucks than Lopez.
If signing Robin was an extra enticement for Brook to come back, it was worth it; he isn’t so much worse than those other options. He’s just unlikely to make much of an impact this season.
Grade: C
Full offseason report card and grades
The Milwaukee Bucks had a contending team, and they made it a priority to run it back. How did they do when you look at every move together?
Re-signed Brook Lopez
Brought back their two-way center on a reasonable (and short) deal to keep hopes of a title alive.
Grade: A
Re-signed Khris Middleton
Saved a ton of money this season and got their No. 2 offensive option to return on a solid deal.
Grade: B+
Drafted Andre Jackson
Added a versatile wing to a contract that will save the Bucks money and give them a young player to develop.
Grade: B+
Signed Malik Beasley
Added one of the market’s best shooters to a steal of a contract on a one-year minimum deal.
Grade: B+
Re-signed AJ Green
Elevated a gunner off of his two-way deal; could see him in the rotation as early as this season.
Grade: B
Re-signed Jae Crowder
Crowder looked shaky last season, but they retain a veteran player who could regain his 3-and-D form.
Grade: C+
Drafted Chris Livingston
Late flier on a wing with upside, but handed a four-year deal and a roster spot to a longshot project.
Grade: C+
Hired Adrian Griffin
Fired a wildly successful coach and hired an unproven replacement; that’s a lot of risk for a team trying to win it all this season.
Grade: C
Signed Robin Lopez
Brought back a good teammate and Brook’s twin brother; better options were out there.
Grade: C
Losing Joe Ingles hurts, as his playmaking was crucial for the Bucks last season, but they couldn’t stay in his market. Otherwise, they managed to run it back, with Lopez and Middleton on reasonable deals and Robin Lopez, Jae Crowder, Malik Beasley and A.J. Green as solid pieces around them. Adrian Griffin is the key swing piece; he needs to be ready from day one to rejuvenate this offense and steer the ship back to the NBA Finals.
Overall Grade: B
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.