9 Bucks free agent signings that crashed and burned during Giannis era
By Tyler Watts
6. Tony Snell
Milwaukee traded Michael Carter-Williams to get Snell before the start of the 2016-17 season. They needed shooting and help on the wing.
The Bucks made him a starter and it resulted in the best year of his career. Snell averaged 8.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 29.2 minutes per game while shooting over 40 percent from 3-point range. They vaulted back into the playoffs where Snell made over 51 percent of his threes.
The Bucks re-signed the restricted free agent to a four-year $46 million contract in the summer of 2017, but things quickly went sideways. Snell never produced counting stats and had a negative value over replacement player (VORP) in two of his first four seasons before signing the deal. The Bucks ignored those signs and paid for it.
His minutes dipped in year one of his new contract and went down to just 17.6 per game in the 2018-19 campaign. It was clear that Snell would never live up to his deal, so the Bucks traded him in the 2019 offseason with the 30th overall pick in a salary dump.
The Milwaukee Bucks did not look at Snell’s history. They fell in love with one strong season and paid him handsomely. The 6’6 wing could never replicate that production, which made this signing an unquestioned bust.