Grading Delon Wright's brilliant deal with the Milwaukee Bucks
Looking at Delon Wright’s fit and role with the Milwaukee Bucks
Outside of Lillard, the Bucks' guard play was not the greatest on both ends of the court last season. Malik Beasley tailed off late, having had a strong shooting season while lacking the defensive presence Milwaukee needed.
Patrick Beverley was acquired at the NBA Trade Deadline and took the starting spot at shooting guard and did what the Bucks needed, but at 36 and the way his season ended with the altercation with the Indiana Pacers fan, there has been no report as to if he will return.
Wright gives the Bucks a bigger guard who can facilitate and shoot, and at 6-foot-5, can be used alongside Lillard in order to guard wings if needed. It was reported by Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer that the Bucks want to be more versatile on defense next season, and Wright gives them that.
Having seen the likes of Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Brunson have big games against Milwaukee, Wright is the exact type of guard that is needed to slow them down and still give the team some production on offense.
In recent seasons, the Bucks have had many veteran guards play backup, with the likes of Jeff Teague, George Hill, Goran Dragic and Cameron Payne. Wright may be the best pickup of the lot, and at 31, he still has a role to play in this league. This past season, he averaged 4.5 points, 2.5 assists and a steal in 15.8 minutes. He had splits of .394/.368/.822 and registered 54 steals with just 14 turnovers.
In the 2023-24 season, he had a defensive rating of 114.1, the worst of his career, per StatMuse. His career defensive rating comes in at 109.9. To put that into perspective, only two Bucks had a better defensive rating this season, and they were Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis. This was the WORST of Wright's career so that defensive presence and versatility will be ideal.
An interesting area that Wright could be useful in is an example and mentor to recent 23rd overall pick AJ Johnson. Johnson was a very surprising pick for the Bucks and is expected to be more of a long-term project than a part of the rotation right away.
Wright has the experience, and Johnson is a similar size and build, and he has already shown he has a good defensive skill set. That won't be Wright's role; he will clearly be a big part of the rotation, but as Johnson begins his NBA career, it might actually help him grow to see and work with a nine-year veteran to pick up things that can assist his own development.
He has plenty of experience off the bench for many teams and has shown great versatility throughout his NBA career.