In an effort to beef up their backcourt, the Milwaukee Bucks signed Gary Harris to a one-year deal in early July. It was a fine move to provide added depth at guard, but with Malcolm Brogdon shockingly still on the market nearly midway through August, the Bucks may have jumped at Harris too early. Brogdon would have been a more eye-catching addition to this particular roster.
Bucks could have brought in a different reclamation project
Harris and Brogdon are both coming off down years. In Orlando, Harris averaged a career-low three points to go with 1.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 14.8 minutes per contest, the second-fewest of his career. Meanwhile, Brogdon averaged 12.7 points, his fewest since his rookie year in Milwaukee, while sinking a career-low 28.6 percent of his triple tries. Neither player had much value.
Even if both players had poor years, Brogdon is still the more captivating of the two. This is a player two years removed from winning Sixth Man of the Year, and when he's on the court, he's still shown that he can have a positive impact by leading an offense. Harris has been a fine role player, but he's never quite reached those heights.
Brogdon would have fit right in with Milwaukee's new style of backcourt play involving combo guards. Between Kevin Porter Jr., Ryan Rollins, and Cole Anthony, only one of Milwaukee's floor generals is a true point guard. This will allow Doc Rivers to mix and match his lineups, giving him more versatility between guards who can play the one and the two in the backcourt.
Brogdon, a reputable combo guard dating back to his early days in Milwaukee, could have helped keep that trend alive. Harris is simply a pure shooting guard.
In defense of Harris (30), he is nearly two years younger than Brogdon (32) and has a much better track record when it comes to injuries. Harris has played at least 48 games in each of the past four seasons. Brogdon has played over 40 just once in the same span. After years of dealing with many heart-breaking injuries, perhaps the Milwaukee Bucks just wanted a safer bet health-wise.
None of this is to say Harris can't help the Milwaukee Bucks. If he gets back to being a reliable 3-point shooter while bringing quality defense, he can make an impact. Yet, if both are going for just minimum deals, Malcolm Brogdon may have been the bigger addition, even with the well-known injuries.
To be clear, there is still a world where the Milwaukee Bucks could add Brogdon. If they cut ties with Andre Jackson Jr., they will have an open roster spot. However, with the three floor generals on the roster alongside Harris, Gary Trent Jr., and AJ Green, it feels unlikely that they'd use that spot on another guard. Had they not signed Harris, perhaps they would have.
There's no telling why Malcolm Brogdon is still unsigned. Perhaps teams are scared off by the injuries. Maybe he's waiting for the right situation to present itself. It could be a bit of both. Either way, it would be shocking if he's unsigned by opening night. Had the Milwaukee Bucks known he would be on the market this late in the NBA offseason, perhaps they would have gone after him harder.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.