Re-signing Gary Trent Jr. should be priority number one for the Milwaukee Bucks among many critical free agency decisions. In case they can't get a deal done, however, Nickeil Alexander-Walker is one replacement option they should have in their sights. As the Bucks watch the second round from home, fans should pay special attention to the Minnesota reserve as his team battles Golden State.
Bucks could use a player like Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Walker has had a lackluster postseason. Held scoreless in Minnesota's Game 1 loss to the Warriors, he averaged just six points in the first round against the Los Angeles Lakers while shooting an abysmal 26.5 percent from the field.
His season as a whole has been far more successful. A key reserve for the Timberwolves, Walker contributed 9.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per contest and shot 38 percent on 3-pointers, his third straight season reaching or exceeding that threshold. For the second year in a row, he played all 82 games. With the NBA's day-to-day injury report uncertainty, nightly availability is becoming a rare commodity.
His statistical contributions do not capture his importance to Minnesota. Like Trent, he is a feisty defender who knocks down spot-up shots and provides a spark off the bench. Both players are 6-foot-5 and can slide between the two and three spots.
One area in which Walker would not measure up to Trent is volume scoring. Whereas the latter has 30-point upside if he's on a heater and gets his shots up, Walker picks his spots. His career-high 11 points per game came in 2021, his second year in the league, as a Pelican. This season, he reached double figures in fewer than half his games.
But Walker also does things that Trent does not. Although his assist numbers don't necessarily show it, he is skilled at moving the ball around the floor, getting teammates touches and preventing stagnant, iso-ball offense. Even though he is not a natural scorer, he can create his own opportunities here and there. He also has sneaky overall value. Albeit with the benefit of eight more games played, he edged out Trent in win shares, 4.3 to 3.3.
Signing Walker in place of Trent would not replace the latter's scoring, for which the Milwaukee Bucks would need to find further help, but it would compensate for a portion of it while supplying many of the same and some additional abilities.
He could be cheaper, too. Finishing out a two-year, $9 million contract, Walker made more this season than Trent's $2.6 million paycheck, but Trent may have earned himself an appreciable raise with his playoff performance. Based on when Walker signed his current deal, following a down year in 2022-23, he is likely due a pay bump himself, but likely a less dramatic one.
While re-signing Trent is Plan A, the Milwaukee Bucks could draw up a worse Plan B than snagging a valuable cog like Alexander-Walker.