Even after a horrific playoff showing, the Milwaukee Bucks believe in Kyle Kuzma and appear ready to start the season with him on the payroll. If so, they cannot blindly believe that he will be better than he was last season, meaning they must have some backup plans in mind in case things go south again. That's the most obvious reason why they cannot let Amir Coffey walk out the door after camp.
Bucks will need to get creative to retain standout wing
On the books for $22 million this coming season, Kuzma will be in Milwaukee's rotation. Jon Horst, Doc Rivers, and everyone else in town have made it clear that they believe in him. That's fine. He can have a shot at redemption. However, if he picks up where he left off and struggles mightily, options are suddenly slim to give Milwaukee some support at forward.
Outside of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who will already possess a significant amount of weight on his shoulders in terms of workload, and Kuzma, Milwaukee's rostered forwards are Taurean Prince, Chris Livingston, and Tyler Smith. Two raw prospects and a veteran coming off a poor playoff showing may make this a roster weak point. That's why keeping Amir Coffey is so crucial.
He may be the best player of the bunch in that particular group.
Coffey is currently slated to be with the Milwaukee Bucks through just training camp, and there's no clear avenue right now to keep him. The team still has to make room for Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who has earned a standard roster spot. General manager Jon Horst will have to make roster tweaks to keep Coffey, who could be a legitimate role player for this team.
Coffey isn't a clear-cut needle-mover, but it's still shocking that they got him on such a contract this late in the summer. He's a rotational player in the NBA, not a training camp player. Letting him walk out the door once camp concludes could come back to bite the Milwaukee Bucks very quickly.
Even if Kyle Kuzma does bounce back and plays well for the Milwaukee Bucks, keeping Amir Coffey wouldn't hurt. The NBA is all about versatility, and having another 6-foot-7, sharpshooting wing is a luxury teams would love to have in that regard. That is especially true for a Milwaukee team that has had plenty of depth concerns in recent memory.
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