After officially signing TyTy Washington to a two-way contract, the Milwaukee Bucks roster is now set at 18 players, including 15 standard contracts and three two-ways.
Barring a trade, this is likely the roster that the Bucks will roll into the 2023-24 NBA season with. While not much has changed with the core of the roster, as the team opted to bring back the duo of Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, there have been some noticeable changes made to the team when looking at the supporting cast, for better or worse.
An area the Milwaukee Bucks improved: Youth
Did you hear that the Milwaukee Bucks had the oldest roster in the NBA last season? If you were at all present on the platform known as Twitter this past season, you probably did. Though it was an experienced group, the Bucks’ experience did not matter phase the Miami Heat in the playoffs, who were much more youthful and athletic, which was a major advantage.
The front office understood that this team needed to get younger, and they wasted no time when it came to overturning every rock. Through the 2023 NBA Draft, they added Andre Jackson Jr. and Chris Livingston in the second round, while Omari Moore was an undrafted free agent. A.J. Green and TyTy Washington were very nice free agent signings for the team.
An interesting stat about the Bucks is that the roster currently has five players born after 2000; last season, they had just one player who fit the mold (MarJon Beauchamp). It’s clear that there was a desperate need for some younger bodies in the rotation, and management did a great job of stocking up on them via several different avenues.
Adding youth doesn’t guarantee more success, but it’s a breath of fresh air to see the Bucks bring in some young players rather than just relying on veterans. These young players will be energetic and eager to make an impact while also having fresher legs. They will also bring more athleticism and spryness to Milwaukee, which, of course, the team lacked mightily last season.
If any of these players could develop into meaningful contributors, it would be a huge boost for Milwaukee due to their limited assets to improve the roster otherwise.