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Report gives the Milwaukee Bucks a "C" for their offseason moves
The Milwaukee Bucks had themselves a busy offseason. After re-signing All-Stars and title cogs Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, the Bucks’ brass got busy and negotiated deals with Jae Crowder, Malik Beasley, and young guard AJ Green. And while the Bucks still have a few roster spots open, one can say the team did a stand-up job of addressing their roster concerns this offseason.
However, a report by Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report handed the Bucks a grade of “C” for their offseason performance. Here are his reasons:
Brought back the same core
For all intents and purposes, the Bucks have returned the core of the squad that won the NBA championship in 2021—only this time, it's a few years older. Lopez is already 35, while Middleton will be 32 once the new season starts this October. While the two, along with another veteran in Jrue Holiday, have a lot of mileage, they remain as talented and skilled as ever.
“The primary goals of the Milwaukee Bucks' offseason had to be hanging on to Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, and they managed to re-sign both,” wrote Bailey. “And while it might be easy to dismiss that offseason with a take along the lines of, "Whoop-dee-doo, the Bucks that flamed out in each of the last two postseasons are back and just a year older," those Bucks haven been pretty darn good when healthy.”
Health is a concern
When Lopez and Middleton play with both Giannis and Holiday, they form a highly-productive quartet capable of besting any team in the NBA. The big caveat has always been health. For as good as this group is when healthy, they’ve missed significant chunks of games over the last few years due to injury.
“When Lopez and Middleton are on the floor with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee is plus-11.3 points per 100 possessions,” Bailey added.
“Those are title contender's numbers. The problem, of course, is that over the three years, those two have been together, the Bucks actually have more minutes when all four are off the floor than they do with all four on. So, health is a pretty big concern.”
