It has been a wild week for the Milwaukee Bucks. Myles Turner signed, Damian Lillard was waived, and the team re-signed a handful of free agents; these moves may have opened the door for Mark Sears to compete for a spot on the roster.
Sears signed a two-way deal with the Bucks right after the NBA Draft concluded. Milwaukee worked him out before the 2024 and 2025 drafts, so they have had their eye on him for some time. The 23-year-old has five years of college experience under his belt, and he now has an opportunity that he may not have expected to appear so soon as the Bucks hunt for guard help.
Mark Sears may earn legitimate time with Damian Lillard waived
Retaining Gary Trent Jr. and Kevin Porter Jr. was high on the front office's priority list, even with Lillard still on the roster but out with injury. The backcourt has been a bit of an issue for the Milwaukee Bucks for the last two seasons.
Sears had five really good years in college, with him playing all 37 games of his senior year, averaging 18.5 points, 5.1 assists, and 2.9 rebounds with shooting splits of .403/.345/.844. At 6-foot-1 in shoes, teams seem to have stayed away from Sears in the draft, mainly down to his size and how he competes defensively. Lillard was 6-foot-2 and was decent defensively but never anything outstanding.
We have seen the Bucks have success with two-way players recently. AJ Green has flourished into a valuable piece of the roster and one of the best shooters in the NBA. Ryan Rollins had a strong 2024-25 season, having started on a two-way deal with Milwaukee. There is a similar pathway for Sears, and with Summer League just around the corner, an opportunity has fallen into his lap that he could not have expected on draft night.
Currently, Milwaukee has only Porter as a true point guard on their roster. Giannis Antetokounmpo can play the point-forward role, but the Bucks need more true point players just to take some of the weight off Giannis and also facilitate in an old-school way.
Mark Sears has shown he can command the pick-and-roll and knows when to up the tempo of a possession. His passing is crisp, and he has shown shot-creation strength with a number of moves to create separation from bigger defenders.
There has been no news on Rollins returning, Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul are big-name veterans still on the market, but Sears is a low-risk, high-reward move. His size and defense will ultimately determine his success, but right now, there is a chance for him to impress the coaching staff and earn his spot on theMilwaukee Bucks roster.