Without shine but solid. That’s how you could sum up the Bucks’ offseason so far. The Milwaukee franchise retained two executives, with Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, plus one back-up player (Jae Crowder), and signed two players, Robin Lopez and Malik Beasley. All while losing only Jevon Carter.
No madness therefore, but a strong desire, despite the change of coach with the arrival of Adrian Griffin: to keep the hard core which has made the team successful for several seasons, in particular with the title in 2021.
“This team has achieved a lot together,” confirms Jon Horst, the GM of the Bucks, for The Athletic. “Griffin believed in this team when we signed him and he couldn’t wait to keep it that way. It is clear that we believe in them. »
For what ? After all, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee certainly dominated the regular season, but the team was quickly eliminated in the playoffs, in the first round against Miami.
“To begin with, because they won”, replies the leader. “You always believe you have the best player in the world, who is incredibly motivated, and these guys are fit and motivated as well. They want more, they are hungry to get back to the top. It wasn’t perfect, every season can’t be, but we won more games than anyone else last season. You have to pay tribute to Miami, and the season before, we lost in seven games against the finalist (Boston). So I think we’re not that far off. We still believe in this core. »
The Bucks wanted to keep Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez
That’s why the Bucks offered Khris Middleton a three-year, $102 million deal.
“It’s important because Khris is a vital part of our group,” explains Jon Horst. “And he was good in the playoffs, even if it was short. He had surgery during the offseason, which will help him to get started in the next season and for the training camp. He’s an All-Star, an Olympic champion, an NBA champion. We are committed to him and his person: his involvement, his consistency, his work ethic. He’s going to have an excellent year and the next two too. »
Brook Lopez continues in Wisconsin for $48 million over two years.
“Like Khris, Brook is a champion, an All-Star and for me, he was the defenseman of the year this season. He’s moving in the right direction, even though he’s aging, and he should be rewarded for that as a free agent. He is an essential part of our team and it was a goal to keep him. We are always looking for the right profile to stick with Giannis and with the coach. Griffin believes in Brook, so I trust him and offer him the best solution. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | 63 | 32.1 | 55.3 | 27.5 | 64.5 | 2.2 | 9.6 | 11.8 | 5.7 | 3.9 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 3.1 | 31.1 |
| Jrue Holiday | 67 | 32.6 | 47.9 | 38.4 | 85.9 | 1.2 | 3.9 | 5.1 | 7.4 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 19.3 |
| Brook Lopez | 78 | 30.4 | 53.1 | 37.4 | 78.4 | 2.0 | 4.7 | 6.7 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 15.9 |
| Khris Middleton | 33 | 24.3 | 43.6 | 31.5 | 90.2 | 0.8 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 2.1 | 15.1 |
| Bobby Portis | 70 | 26.0 | 49.6 | 37.0 | 76.8 | 2.2 | 7.4 | 9.6 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 14.1 |
| Grayson Allen | 72 | 27.4 | 44.0 | 39.9 | 90.5 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 10.4 |
| Jevon Carter | 81 | 22.4 | 42.3 | 42.1 | 81.6 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 8.0 |
| Pat Connaughton | 61 | 23.7 | 39.2 | 33.9 | 65.9 | 0.8 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 7.6 |
| Lindell Wigginton | 7 | 12.4 | 48.6 | 33.3 | 88.9 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 7.1 |
| Joe Ingles | 46 | 22.7 | 43.5 | 40.9 | 85.7 | 0.3 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 6.9 |
| Jae Crowder | 18 | 18.9 | 47.9 | 43.6 | 83.3 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 6.9 |
| Jordan Nwora | 38 | 15.7 | 38.6 | 39.2 | 86.0 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 6.0 |
| Goran Dragic | 7 | 11.8 | 38.9 | 41.2 | 100.0 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 5.6 |
| Marjon Beauchamp | 52 | 13.5 | 39.5 | 33.1 | 73.0 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 5.1 |
| george hill | 35 | 19.1 | 44.7 | 31.1 | 73.9 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 5.0 |
| Leonard Meyers | 9 | 12.6 | 48.3 | 38.9 | 88.9 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.8 | 4.8 |
| Aj Green | 35 | 9.9 | 42.4 | 41.9 | 100.0 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 4.4 |
| Serge Ibaka | 16 | 11.6 | 48.1 | 33.3 | 61.5 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 4.1 |
| Wesley Matthews | 52 | 15.8 | 36.3 | 31.5 | 85.7 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 3.4 |
| Sandro Mamukelashvili | 24 | 9.1 | 32.8 | 21.9 | 66.7 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 2.4 |
| Thanasis Antetokounmpo | 37 | 5.6 | 43.5 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1.4 |
