Make no mistake about it, the Milwaukee Bucks absolutely would have loved for Bradley Beal to join them after he was let go by the Phoenix Suns. However, with Beal passing on them to ink a deal with the LA Clippers, it does allow Milwaukee to remain full steam ahead with the youth movement they have clearly been building towards this summer, a true silver lining for the Bucks.
(This one also stings less because the LA Clippers gave Beal more money than what the Bucks could have offered, which was certainly part of the pitch.)
Beal will not eat minutes from Milwaukee's youngsters
Had Milwaukee acquired Bradley Beal, they would have needed to carve out a significant role for him. That means he'd eat into sizeable minutes for AJ Green, Gary Trent Jr., Ryan Rollins, Kevin Porter Jr., and Cole Anthony in the backcourt. With the roster building an identity based on young, athletic players who can speed up the pace, Beal could have thrown a wrench into that.
Of course, there's also the injury history. Beal has played 60 regular season games in just one of the past six NBA seasons. Injuries have been an unfortunate issue for him, and with all of the issues the Milwaukee Bucks have battled on that front in recent years, most recently with Damian Lillard's blood clot and Achilles tear, it would have been somewhat of a risk.
Now, the keys to the backcourt should be in the hands of those five aforementioned players. Yes, none of them have the experience that Beal has, but that hasn't worked for them in the past. Last season, Delon Wright, the savvy veteran, started the year as Milwaukee's backup point guard, but he lost his spot to younger, much more inexperienced Ryan Rollins due to the latter's youth and energy.
As evidenced by Milwaukee's success late last season when they were both in the lineup, rolling with young two guards like AJ Green and Gary Trent Jr. could be the best recipe for success over adding a much more recognizable name. It's all about building a foundation for the roster. At 32, Beal isn't over the hill, but he would have been considered older on this retooled roster.
The Milwaukee Bucks clearly wanted to get younger this offseason, and they've done just that. Time will tell if they have another move or two to keep the trend alive.
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