Heading into the 2023-24 season, the Milwaukee Bucks will be the favorites to win it all after acquiring Damian Lillard last week.
The focus so far has been on how Dame will fit in Milwaukee. How are teams going to defend the Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard pick-and-roll? How will this deal impact the future of Antetokounmpo after he decided he’ll hold off on contract talks for now?
What’s not being talked about is the other side of the three-team deal. Milwaukee shipped Grayson Allen to Phoenix, and with that, a career 40 percent 3-point shooter with the Bucks is no longer on the team. The loss of Allen should be marginal, as General Manager Jon Horst has added shooters to surround Giannis with. Lillard makes the team more lethal, so he won’t be on this list.
Instead, I’m looking at three players who will help fill Grayson Allen’s role this season.
1- Pat Connaughton
Connaughton had a year he would like to forget last season. He missed over a month of action to start the season with a calf injury. That would lead to his down year as he went through a two-month-long shooting slump. The good news is that the year Connaughton had last year served as an aberration, as it’s not the type of player he’s been throughout his career.
Connaughton provides a lot for the Bucks, including hard-nosed defense, rebounding, effort, and consistent shooting from three.
Connaughton should have plenty of opportunities this season, with how lethal Milwaukee’s starting five will be.
The other thing to note is that Milwaukee Head Coach Adrian Griffin hasn’t named a fifth starter yet, and with Connaughton’s experience in Milwaukee, he would be the best complementary fit for the other four.
How Adrian Griffin makes that decision will be interesting because he could decide to throw in another big (Bobby Portis or Jae Crowder) or he could decide to use another shooter (Malik Beasley or Pat Connaughton).
Either way, Connaughton could easily replace Allen’s production, and having four guys who can score the basketball at will should open up an opportunity for Connaughton to have his best offensive year to date.