Point Guard Options for the Milwaukee Bucks

After the Atlanta Hawks matched the Milwaukee Bucks offer sheet (4 years, 32 million dollars) to restricted free agent point guard Jeff Teague, it looked almost certain that the Bucks would have to bring back Brandon Jennings either by an extension or qualifying offer. However, that may not be the case.

For those who think Brandon Jennings is now a lock to return to Bucks, guess again. As of this tweet, Bucks still looking at other PGs.
— Gery Woelfel (@GeryWoelfel) July 19, 2013

That being said, I believe the best case scenario for this drama that has developed between the two parties is a break up. With the Bucks offering Teague the offer sheet, it pretty much made it obvious to Brandon Jennings that he was plan B. Whether he feels disrespected or not, that is neither here nor there. Here's an interesting stat on Brandon Jennings that may surprise you. I shared this on the blog's Twitter account a week ago.

In the last 15 NBA seasons, only one player has shot over 1,200 shots and shot under 40% in a season. That player is Brandon Jennings.
— WI Sports Blog (@WISportsBlog) July 11, 2013

If Brandon Jennings was...let's say...more efficient, maybe the 12 million dollars a year he's asking for wouldn't be as ludicrous as it sounds coming from him?

A sign and trade makes the most sense here, however there are a few free agents the Bucks could look at. Right now the point guard depth chart for the Bucks stands at Luke Ridnour, Ish Smith, and rookie Nate Wolters. If the Bucks can get a predominate point guard, the team may look to keep Ridnour in more of a shooting guard role to back up OJ Mayo, however Luke can play both point and shooting guard.

One option on the table could be bringing back yet another former Buck. Beno Udrih is on the free agent market, a player we sent to the Orlando Magic in the ridiculous JJ Redick/Tobias Harris trade. Udrih is a very efficient point guard who actually plays remarkably better as a starter vs. a reserve.

As a starter, Beno averages 13.4 PPG, 5.2 AST, 3.3 REB, 47.9% FG%, 37.3% 3P%, and 84.8 FT%.

As a reserve, Beno averages 6.4 PPG, 2.6 AST, 1.5 REB, 44.2% FG%, 33.4% 3P%, and 79.6 FT%.

More impressively, as a starter in nine games for the Magic last year, Beno averaged 14.3 points a game, 8.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds while shooting 40.7% from the field, 53.8% from three-point range and 86.4% from the free throw line.

Now some will say that Beno won't want to come back to Milwaukee after his comments he made after the trade last year. That was really all on Scott Skiles, not the whole organization. Skiles is well known for not communicating with his players (Eddy Curry, Brandon Jennings, and Jason Kidd...just to name a few). I'm not here to compare the coaching styles of Larry Drew and Scott Skiles. All I'm saying is that how Skiles was last year wouldn't effect Beno returning to the Bucks with Larry Drew as the team's new head coach.

With the Bucks having roughly 7-8 million left in cap space, the price would have to be right to bring him back. Coincidentally, Beno made just over 7 million last year between the Bucks and Magic. I don't see any reason why he would expect much less than that considering his strong finish to the season last year. In the end, I don't think this move could end up happening unless Beno comes in at a discounted price. (4-5 million a year deal).

Moving on, there a lot of names out there that are available, but quite frankly I don't think the Bucks or any team for that matter have interest in. For example,

Baron Davis...pass.
Gilbert Arenas...pass.
Derek Fisher...pass.

Those would have been great free agent signings 5-10 years ago. Not now. But who knows. We are talking about the Bucks.

An under the radar guy out there for me is Delonte West. Besides his final two years with Boston and his second season with Cleveland, the 29 year old has never really had a predominate role with a team. He's coming off a season with Dallas with the highest PER rating of his career (15.3). West can play both guard positions. At 6-4, West plays pretty decent defense as well. At age 30, former Buck Mo Williams might end up being an option. 33 year old Keyon Dooling is looking for a team as well.

I think a signing that a lot of Bucks fans have been asking me about and wanting is Nate Robinson. Nate is coming of an impressive career year with the Chicago Bulls. We can all thank Derrick Rose for the showcase Robinson put on last year. One very misleading thing about Nate is that his style fits in well with the Bulls, who are a big team in terms of height. The Bucks are opposite. We've been very small in recent years. I fear that if Nate came to the Bucks, he would be smothered in our style of offense.

The one positive entity that surrounds Nate Robinson is that he could come at a very inexpensive price. He'd likely cost 3/4 of what Udrih would cost. And, at a low price like that, Nate could be appealing to a team at the trade deadline. Bringing Nate in at that price gives the Bucks some room to add depth at another wing position. (SG/SF Richard Hamilton, SG Gary Neal, and SF Austin Daye in particular).

Finally, Nate Robinson signed a baby at the Vegas Summer League. Moving along...

Putting the free agency madness aside, there is one sign and trade opportunity out there that could help solve this point guard dilemma. It involves a move that I actually wrote about in a previous article regarding the Bucks free agency/offseason.

The Indiana Pacers like them some Brandon Jennings. It's documented. It's what they immediately talked about once the offseason began. They originally tried to pawn off Danny Granger and his crazy contract on the Bucks in exchange for Brandon Jennings (Granger will make 14 million in 2013 coming off an injury ridden season.) However, something that caught my eye is actually something I could see happening.

The Milwaukee Bucks sign and trade point guard Brandon Jennings and a 2014 and 2015 second round pick to the Indiana Pacers for point guard George Hill.

Obviously, if the Pacers want Jennings, they don't need to be paying George Hill his contract to be a back up. Speaking of his contract, it is all too familiar with what the Bucks were willing to pay another point guard. George Hill's remaining contract with the Pacers is good for 4 years, and it pays exactly 8 million dollars annually. It's mirror image of what we offered Teague.

Now, this move is only likely if the Bucks decide not to use this season as a transitional one and they actually want to compete. All signs point to this year being transitional and the #TankForWiggins trend seems to be likely. That's why I'm just speculating here.

I think that is an important thing to remember coming out of this free agency period with the Bucks. I think it's wise to save your emotions with the Bucks when it comes to this stuff. With the way we drafted this year, I feel we are heading into the right direction. I believe that with who we brought in for free agent signings are trade chips, role players to mentor our rookies (Zaza, Delfino, and Ridnour to teach Wolters and Giannis). In the end, I think at best we will be a lottery team, regardless if Jennings comes back or not. That is unless we make a big move involving Jennings.

Until next time, Beer, Brats, and Championships.

- Andrew Vrchota (@AndrewVrchota)

Follow us on Twitter (@WISportsBlog) for up to date news on the Brewers, Packers, Badgers, Bucks, and Golden Eagles. We feature live, in-game commentary, breaking news, previews and post game discussions. Follow the entire Wisconsin Sports Blog writing team on Twitter: @AndrewVrchota, @jheldred, @JoeP_Norton, @SMahon2Go, @olewr7, @Stevie2Westside, @Mik3_Schu, and @10iskristin.

Milwaukee Bucks Acquire JJ Redick

JJ Redick was among the most coveted players at the trade deadline this year, and for the second straight season, the Bucks up another big pickup at the trade deadline.

So what do you think of the Bucks picking up the sharpshooter in Redick?  Here are some thoughts and feelings from around the web:

Adam Kennedy of HoopsWorld is all in favor of the trade from the Bucks side: “Redick has been having a career-year in Orlando and he makes the Bucks a much better team as they look to bolster their roster for a playoff push.”

ESPN’s Chris Broussard thinks the Bucks are the big winner of the deadline: “JJ Redick is a shooter who should play well off of Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis.” 

ESPN Insider Kevin Pelton gave the Bucks a C+ for their move at the deadline, writing the real upgrade comes when “Redick takes Ellis' minutes, giving Milwaukee a more efficient option at shooting guard.”

Redick is absolutely having a career year, shooting 45% from the field and averaging 15.1 PPG.  One attribute you know you get with Redick is premiere shooting; he’s a career 40% shooter from behind the arc and is shooting 89% from the free throw line this year.  He fits the Bucks mold of able shooters to fit in with Dunleavy, Ilyasova and scorers in Jennings and Ellis.  This gives the Bucks a capable jump shooting team, to say the least. 

What does this trade resolve?  Well, the Bucks are currently 25^th in the NBA in FG%.  Redick helps there.  They’re 20^th in 3P%.  Redick helps there.  And he seemingly fits well into the Bucks system of offense as he’ll snag minutes between Jennings and Ellis who are currently averaging 37.5 MPG.

The Redick scouting report:

-Redick is a bit different than the Kyle Korver catch-and-shoot type as he uses more shot fakes and is a more capable defender.

-Much like Ellis and Jennings, he’s a bit undersized for his position at just 6’4, but a very Coach K solid player with good overall skills.

-There’s nothing too dazzling about his game—he’s fundamental and a premiere shooter type with a high basketball IQ and can handle better than you may think.

-He doesn’t turn the ball over much and can play the point guard spot; he’ll presumably slide into the PG position with Ellis on the court or SG with Jennings in, depending on the scenario.

-While he can shoot well, he is not great at creating his own shot off the dribble.

-Redick gets to the charity line at a decent clip.

Moreover, he’s coming off what is likely the best month of his career in January where he averaged 17.5 PPG shooting 45% from the field.  Not too shabby. 

The worry with Redick is that the Bucks have further crowded their backcourt.  Who will lose playing time in this?  You’d have to figure Monta Ellis.  In fact, Redick may be the antithesis of Ellis: Ellis, who can be described as hot and cold, a poor defender and an irrational shooter, is different than Redick who plays fundamental and controlled basketball, takes smart shots and plays to his game.

The trade is definitely geared toward the short term since Redick’s contract expires at season’s end and he’ll be an unrestricted free agent.  Redick’s may be in the market for a 4-year, $40MM contract come the offseason, which would be a steep price for the Bucks to pay for a player inching towards 30 and having a career year.  But for the Bucks, the reward exceeded the risk: they believe Redick can be the remote difference and make them a playoff team come late April.

So what did they give up?

Doron Lamb has bounced between the D-League and Bucks for the last few months while Tobias Harris has had to show mighty patience to get into the starting lineup.  Beno Udrih, a solid backup point guard to Jennings, will be missed mainly for his spelling Jennings at PG on occasion.  Udrih’s contract is set to expire at season’s end, too.

Harris is my only real concern here—Jim Boylan was recently on Dennis Krause’s Sports Program praising Harris’ work ethic, character and potential.  We never really got to see the no. 19 pick of the 2011 draft bloom.  We saw flashes of what he can do, but with the long term signing of Ilyasova, emergence of Larry Sanders and consistency between Mbah a Moute and Dunleavy, Harris could not crack consistent playing time.  For that reason, the trade made plenty of sense on both sides: the Magic, seeking high first round draft picks ended up settling for two draft picks of the last two years.  It wasn’t a bad decision either considering the rawness of both players and fact that the 2013 draft looks like a rather weak one at this point. 

Are you excited about the addition of Redick to the Bucks?  Will he be a rental player or can the Bucks re-sign him, especially considering the fact that Ellis may opt for free agency at season’s end?

Until next time, Beers, Brats, and Championships.

-Sean Mahon (@SMahon2Go)

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