11 Way too early 2024 free agent targets for the Milwaukee Bucks
By Dalton Sell
As the NBA Playoffs continue, members of the Milwaukee Bucks front office are likely hard at work planning ahead for what should be a busy off-season.
With general manager Jon Horst confirmed to stay put, the top half of Milwaukee's roster secured on contracts and Doc Rivers not going anywhere, the focus will be on sharpening the roster. Though the Bucks will not have a large amount of spending money, they will have a chance to add faces, new or old, with minimum contracts.
That doesn't sound too enticing, but nice players can be found with those. Look at the type of crucial production contending teams like the Philadelphia 76ers and Dallas Mavericks got this season from low-cost guys like Kelly Oubre Jr. and Derrick Jones Jr. Heck, the Bucks got great production from Malik Beasley, but he didn't really fit their needs after the Damian Lillard trade.
The Bucks absolutely have to find a gem with a minimum deal this off-season. Let us highlight several possible candidates with free agency growing closer each day.
Patrick Beverley
After coming in at the trade deadline, Patrick Beverley played good enough basketball for the Bucks that he ended up becoming a full-time starter. Most Milwaukee fans are seemingly on board with the idea of bringing him back for another go-round next season, and reasonably so.
Though retaining the soon-to-be 36-year-old would not help Milwaukee's need for more youth this off-season, he does help them in a lot of other areas. He's an irritating perimeter defender, and the Bucks should take as many of those as they can get. He's also a strong outside shooter and capable ball-handler with boatloads of hard-earned experience.
Beverley returning to Milwaukee seemed like a natural fit until the guard said on a recent episode of his podcast, The Pat Bev Podcast, that he believes he's deserving of a bump in pay this off-season. With their limited spending money, the Bucks just might not be willing to offer that. A team with a lot more cash could easily poach him with a much more enticing offer.
If the Bucks can get him on a minimum, great. If they can't, they may have to look elsewhere for help in the backcourt.