The Milwaukee Bucks nearly pushed the Toronto Raptors to seven games in their opening round playoff series. There is a lot of positives Milwaukee will take heading in to next season. The Bucks battled without Khris Middleton and Jabari Parker for most of the year. Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo showed signs he is among the emerging stars in the NBA. Milwaukee’s core players are signed through the 2017-18 season but that doesn’t mean they won’t be busy this summer. Here is a look at the Bucks offseason plan.
3 Things The Bucks Have To Work On
1. Move Past Monroe
The Bucks biggest name free agent this offseason could very well be Greg Monroe. He has a player option for $17 million and their hope would be that he opts out. If not, they may have to try and trade him.
The smart move is to let him walk (if that’s an option). Milwaukee paid Monroe over $17 million to come off the bench in 2016-17. He never fit in with their scheme to begin with and there is no sense in keeping this experiment going.
The Bucks will have plenty of different options with the money they will retain by passing on the veteran big man. Milwaukee needs to let Monroe walk and use the money they retain by passing on him to fill out the weaknesses on their roster.
2. Work With The Greek Freak
Antetokounmpo became the fifth player in league history to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks this past season. Now he needs to work on the one major weakness in his game in order to take that next step. Opponents dared Antetokounmpo to shoot the three-ball this past year and he responded with a 27-percent mark from beyond the arc while averaging 2.3 three-point attempts per game. Milwaukee needs to surround Antetokounmpo with a staff that can help him develop his shooting arsenal to become a more complete player.
The Greek Freak is on the verge of becoming a superstar and adding the three-ball to his arsenal could make a tremendous difference next season.
3. Plug & Play Shooters
The Bucks shot 37-percent from beyond the arc last season. Milwaukee ranked 10th in the NBA in three-point shooting. Tony Snell led the way with 2.7 three-point shots per game on 51-percent shooting so the Bucks will make it a priority to lock him in with a new contract. If Monroe and Spencer Hawes come off the books, then Milwaukee will have upwards of $24 million to spend on free agents. The Bucks need to surround Antetokounmpo with quality scorers and they will have plenty of options to choose from on the open market. Milwaukee is in an excellent position with a talented young core and a substantial amount of money to use in free agency so it will be very interesting to see how they approach this offseason.
Key Free Agents
It will make sense for Milwaukee to move past Monroe and Hawes, but the challenge is that both have player options. The question is do both players believe they can earn more elsewhere? Monroe at $17 million seems ridiculous, but remember that this is the new NBA. With the salary cap going up again, it’s not unrealistic to think that he can make that kind of money and sign a long term deal. Remember, it only takes one team to make that happen. The Bucks would love that.
At the same time, there’s Hawes, who has an option for $6 million. He’s probably in the same boat. Can he make more money? The guess is probably yes. However, $6 million seems like a lot for him because he’s a glorified bench guy.
The other free agents the Bucks have to think about are Michael Beasley and Jason Terry. Each contributed to the team in different ways and it would be nice to get those guys back. Terry and Beasley could be affordable. The Bucks have a team option on Snell for just over $3 million.
With upwards of $20 million to spend in free agency, the Bucks can be aggressive this offseason in order to solidify a lineup that is only beginning to tap in to its immense potential.
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