After a period of uncertainty, the Milwaukee Bucks have brought back Thanasis Antetokounmpo, which gives them 16 players under contract. That doesn't count Amir Coffey, who signed a training camp deal last month, but it does include Garry Harris, a puzzling free-agent addition unlikely to crack the rotation.
With too many names on the roster, Coffey's non-guaranteed salary puts his potential roster spot in jeopardy. Foreseeably, the Harris signing has created an unfortunate scenario that could have been completely avoided.
Having Harris under contract creates dismaying clog for Bucks
A 6-foot-7 wing defender coming off a career-best 2024-25 campaign, Coffey would fill a clear need for the Bucks. The roster already has a glut of smaller wings around Harris's size. Whereas Coffey, 28, is on an upward trajectory, Harris is slowing down. In Orlando last year, the 11th season of his career, he featured sparingly in the rotation and averaged just three points per game.
In year six for the Clippers, Coffey averaged 9.7 points, a career-high, while shooting 40.9 percent on threes and playing solid defense.
Because the Bucks gave Harris a fully guaranteed contract, however, for two years and over $7 million, cutting him instead of Coffey would mean simply eating the money. That's not a viable option. Before the Antetokounmpo signing, waiving Andre Jackson Jr., who has only $800K guaranteed, offered a feasible way to make room for Coffey. Now, that move would only accommodate Thanasis. Coffey is the odd man out.
The Bucks could also consider getting rid of Chris Livingston, but he is making over $2 million guaranteed. On top of that, the contract is a recent one, signed after a strong Summer League showing, and it looks like the organization wants to give him another chance. Those factors do not work in Coffey's favor.
The Harris signing seemed unhelpful when it happened. He is older, a redundant fit, and on the decline. He is unlikely to get anything but garbage time minutes. The Bucks already have AJ Green, Gary Trent Jr., and Ryan Rollins to play the two-guard, and at least the first two fit the smaller wing-player mold.
Perhaps inevitably, harboring a superfluous roster piece has come back to bite the Milwaukee Bucks. The only way it doesn't produce an unfavorable outcome, either through waiving Coffey or, for example, eating Livingston's money, is if Milwaukee has a trade in the works to relieve some of the roster cramping. Fans can only hope that's the case.