Looking at the Milwaukee Bucks roster, one of the greater weak points is the power forward rotation. That's why keeping Pete Nance makes sense. He would give the team another capable body, but his days with the team could be numbered due to his non-guaranteed contract. If Nance is let go, it may force the Bucks to turn to a pair of fresh-faced rookies in Nate Ament and Bogoljub Markovic early.
Roster crunch looms large over Nance
By every metric, Pete Nance deserves a spot on Milwaukee's standard roster. He played well last year despite all of the team's issues. Sure, he doesn't have the most potential left to unearth, given his age, but that doesn't mean he is incapable of being a fine rotational player. If the team wasn't facing such a tight roster crunch, as they are currently over the legal limit by two players, he would likely stay.
Yet, with a non-guaranteed contract for next season, cutting Nance is one of the easiest ways the Milwaukee Bucks can free up one of the two spots needed. It would put pressure on Taylor Jenkins to roll out adequate players at the power forward spot behind Kyle Kuzma and Ousmane Dieng, leading to a potential early trial by fire for Ament and Markovic.
Rookies could get a taste of NBA life early
When the Milwaukee Bucks drafted Nate Ament and signed Bogoljub Markovic a few months back, their plan was seemingly clear: play the long game. At 19 and 21, both players are incredibly young and nowhere near where they need to be in terms of being standard contributors. That's why having them essentially redshirt their first year to soak up information and grow made so much sense.
Then, they could sharpen their skills and be in a better position to succeed next season and beyond.
Now, that could still happen, but it becomes a lot harder to do that without Nance. Kuzma and Deing will eat up sizeable time at the power forward spot, but what if one of them misses time? What if the team finds a trade partner for Kuzma? Pressure would suddenly shift to one of the rookies to play at a level they might not be ready for.
Sometimes, that can be the best thing for a player. Other times, it can be a detriment. With a coach like Jenkins leading the way, perhaps there would be fewer worries, given his player development skills, but still, there is no telling whether it would pan out. There is still time for the Milwaukee Bucks to sort out their roster, but the odds of them keeping Nance and making this topic disappear are slim.
Rookies, stay on your toes.
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