Amir Coffey has just one game left before his deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, an Exhibit 9, concludes. While plenty of Bucks fans, including this writer, thought Coffey would be a shoo-in to make the final regular season roster one way or another, that simply isn't the case. If he wants to stick around, his best bet is turning heads in the preseason finale.
Coffey faces an uphill battle to make Bucks roster
It has been a quiet preseason for Coffey, who has averaged just 11.5 minutes per game across three contests so far. In that span, he's put up just three points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.3 assists per matchup while shooting 33.3 percent from the floor. Those aren't exactly the type of numbers that teams will jump through hoops to sign a player for.
There have been glimpses of strong play sprinkled in there, as he is shooting 42.9 percent from deep in the limited sample size. However, he hasn't looked like the role player coming off a career year with the LA Clippers that Milwaukee Bucks fans hoped they were getting. Perhaps some of that has to do with the minimal minutes, but still, when given the opportunity, he hasn't capitalized.
In addition to fans generally being excited about Coffey's arrival due to his strong numbers with the Clippers last season, there was also internal hype. Early into training camp, Doc Rivers specifically pointed out Coffey when talking about who has stood out, saying, "Amir Coffey had an unbelievable day today." The hype was through the roof, but it hasn't translated just yet.
One could argue that Andre Jackson Jr. has made a stronger case to stay on the roster than Coffey. Knowing his place in town also isn't certain, Jackson has been an energizer for this squad, playing his brand of physical, energetic defense while also rebounding and passing well. His scoring, also known as one of his most obvious issues, hasn't shown much growth, but everything else has jumped out.
Currently, the Milwaukee Bucks don't have room for either, but if it came down to it, they must choose to keep Jackson over Coffey right now. Both of them will have one last chance to prove themselves in the Bucks' final game of the preseason against the defending champion OKC Thunder. After that, it will be time for some tough decisions to be made.
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