NBA veteran Joe Ingles is officially heading overseas to continue his basketball career, signing a two-year deal with Melbourne United. The forward returns across the pond after stints with the Utah Jazz, Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic, and Minnesota Timberwolves. It's easy to forget that Ingles played for the Bucks, given how his tenure played out.
Joe Ingles' time in Milwaukee wasn't as expected
There was a lot to like when the Bucks signed Ingles to a one-year contract in the summer of 2022. Although he was coming off an ACL tear, Ingles possessed the type of offensive talent to constantly give Milwaukee a reliable second-unit weapon, something that plagued them in the postseason just months before as they fell to the Boston Celtics in seven games.
The hope was that he could provide adequate scoring and ball-handling to take pressure off the stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday. Upon returning from his injury, he did provide that in spurts, but it wasn't as impactful as it had been during his Sixth Man of the Year runner-up finish in 2020-21. He had clearly taken a step back.
His regular season playing time was solid—averaging 22.7 minutes per game—but in the postseason, his importance dipped. In five games against the Miami Heat, Ingles averaged a mere 17.8 minutes as the top-seeded Bucks fell to Miami. He simply wasn't as impactful as the Milwaukee Bucks had hoped he'd be, which led to his departure in the summer. Swing and a miss.
Joe Ingles wants to get back to playing basketball
After leaving Milwaukee, Ingles never carved out a consistent role for himself with the Magic or the Timberwolves. In Orlando, he averaged 17.2 minutes per game but dropped below 10 in the playoffs. Over the last two seasons, he has turned more into a sideline veteran, appearing in 46 games for an average of 5.8 minutes per game. Not playing seemed to be getting to him.
While Ingles likely could have remained with Minnesota or gotten another opportunity as a veteran, he made it clear he wanted to get back on the floor consistently. He recently told ESPN that he had an "itch" to play more, saying that he just wasn't getting that with Minnesota. Now, he can return to play in a familiar spot and claim some legitimate minutes to finish out his career. Good for him.
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