Milwaukee Bucks Complete 2016-17 Preview

The Golden State Warriors stormed into the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Dec. 12, with the NBA championship belt on their shoulders and a historic winning streak at their backs.

The Milwaukee Bucks lived up to their moniker by darting in front of the speeding superpower and stopping the Warriors with a 108-95 upset.

“It was a great win. Everyone knew how important it was,” Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry told ESPN.com. “It’s great since it gives the players more confidence and tells our fans that we have the potential to be one of the best teams if we play our game.”

By season’s end, the Bucks were still selling potential over production, having regressed from their surprise 2015 playoff run and sputtering to a 33-49 finish. But their upside was undeniable as one of only five teams—and the lone non-postseason participant—to defeat both the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers. 

The Bucks have a surging star in Giannis Antetokounmpo, a possible scoring ace in Jabari Parker, suffocating length at every position and an experimental coach in Jason Kidd who’s still testing how all the pieces fit. Their future is bright.

But the 2016-17 outlook is murky thanks to Khris Middleton’s ruptured hamstring and a bottom-10 defense in desperate need of repair.

       

       

Biggest Offseason Move

The Bucks did their heaviest offseason lifting on the home front, inking Antetokounmpo to a four-year, $100 million extension that falls just below his maximum salary. The 21-year-old left a little money on the table to help Milwaukee keep its young core together, sources told ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

And that’s just one of the reasons ESPN Insider Kevin Pelton believes this pact will be among the NBA’s best:

Based on the development of similar players from my SCHOENE projection system and his rating in ESPN’s real plus-minus, I project Antetokounmpo to provide 8.7 wins above replacement player (WARP) in 2017-18, the first year of his extension, and 9.3 WARP the following season.

On the open market, such production would be worth far more than the maximum salary. I estimate Antetokounmpo would be worth about $40 million a year in a world without limits on player salaries.

So getting Antetokounmpo signed to any kind of extension would have been good news for the Bucks. Getting him to take less than the max … is a coup.

Before extending Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee focused its effort on finding more shooting. The team added Matthew Dellavedova, Mirza Teletovic and Jason Terry, who collectively hit 38.8 percent from three-point range last season—well above the Bucks’ 22nd-ranked 34.5 percent conversion rate. Rookies Thon Maker and Malcolm Brogdon should both expand the newfound spacing.

Milwaukee’s remade backcourt lost O.J. Mayo to a ban for violating the league’s anti-drug program, while both Jerryd Bayless and Greivis Vasquez bolted in free agency. The Bucks also traded Tyler Ennis for Michael Beasley to cover Middleton’s absence and continue hunting for wings on the trade market, league sources told ESPN.com’s Marc Stein.

            

         

Rotation Breakdown

Even with two of their three cornerstones still in play, the Bucks have little set in stone regarding a rotation.

Antetokounmpo will function offensively as a point guard. Despite standing 6’11”, he has perimeter skills and a floor general’s unselfishness. If he gets a lead on his defender, he’s never more than a few long strides away from rocking the rim. But Milwaukee will keep a traditional point guard alongside him to provide secondary playmaking and handle the …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com