Good is Never Good Enough
No matter how impressive the Milwaukee Bucks have been this year, there remains a hot point of contention for a substantial number of fans: The departure of Malcolm Brogdon. Certainly, nobody was happy to see him go to another team, especially within the same division. He’s a great player and it was tough seeing him in another jersey against the Bucks this past Sunday.
I promise you this, however– once you move on and accept what’s done is done, you will feel liberated. If you’re a Bucks fan, you’ve suffered enough! You should soak up every minute of this run, untethered from something you had no control over. To help, allow me to share some thoughts on why the front office made the right decision.
Myth: Signing Bledsoe Was a Bad Deal
First off, the Bucks knew they had a lot of pending free agents to address this past off-season. Eric Bledsoe was set to be part of that group. but both sides were able to agree on a new contract extension during the season instead. It seemed to be a cost-effective/risk-adverse decision to make at that time. But some people look at this as the first domino to fall in not being able to retain Brogdon’s services.
Alas, Bledsoe would inevitably lose his marbles against the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals last year. Hopefully, his talent overcomes whatever issues he’s been prone to come playoff time. When he’s on his game, this team looks unbeatable. For whatever reason though, he seems to just glitch out from time-to-time. See exhibit A:
https://twitter.com/DimeUPROXX/status/1192308761878249474?s=20
Whatever you think of Bledsoe’s contract as of today, it was a smart move to pull the trigger on that signing when they did. For comparison, the Memphis Grizzlies paid Mike Conley an average of around $30 million per year. The Bucks got their guy in the range of $18 million per. That’s a team friendly deal for a player who made last year’s NBA All-Defensive First Team.
Most importantly, it was smart because it sent a message to Giannis before free agency even started: This team was committed to winning, and keeping their core intact. That reassurance had to have a good impression on someone who has loyalty inside their DNA. #KeepGiannisHappy
https://twitter.com/Giannis_An34/status/883118398695239680?s=20
Giving Midds the Max
Since we didn’t need to worry about Bledsoe’s contract status, the first priority in free agency was Khris Middleton. I know there are a lot of fans complaining about giving him a max deal. He’s obviously not Klay Thompson or Kevin Durant. I get frustrated with how he tends to disappear on certain nights just as much as the next critic. But realistically, Khris was option A, B, and C for who we needed to sign at any cost. He was an NBA All-Star last year, and most importantly, Giannis wanted him to run it back: #KeepGiannisHappy
Odd Man Out
Giannis got his two guys above, so signing Brogdon to a big contract would have been tough. It was possible but was the opportunity cost worth it? Here’s an over-simplified rundown of what we did without having his contract on the books:
We re-signed Brook Lopez. It’s hard to imagine replacing him with someone who can protect the rim on defense, while also fitting in to our “Let it Fly” system on offense as well as he does. George Hill, who has NBA Finals experience and played a huge role with this team last year, re-signed too. Plus, we also received draft picks in the sign-and-trade deal with the Pacers. Lastly, the Bucks rounded out the roster with a few other key pieces, most notably Wesley Matthews.
Free Donte!
I think a criminally underrated factor was that the organization viewed Donte DiVincenzo as someone ready to break-out. I wrote about Donte at length in my previous article. As fans, we hadn’t gotten as much of a chance to see his potential until now. Given the fact that he’s 22 years old and most likely part of their long-term plans, it makes sense to get him acclimated and growing the chemistry with Giannis and Co… It’s working out beautifully.
Age/Health Factor
One more thing to consider: Malcolm played four tough seasons at the University of Virginia. He graduated as a 5th year senior. By the time he got to the NBA he was already 23 years old and came with some mileage on him. He’s 27 now and health is a concern. He’s already missed a stretch of games this season with nagging injuries, and missed a big chunk of the stretch run for the Bucks last year. Did you know that he’s actually older than Anthony Davis!? AD is already in his 8th season in the NBA. Check out this crazy stat from the night we drafted Malcolm:
We’re Good!
I choose to give the front office the benefit of the doubt. Ownership is paying the bills, so I’m not going to dive into the whole luxury tax issue, Bird Rights, etc… I’m also not going to address Brogdon’s outspoken views on the socioeconomic issues facing the City of Milwaukee. Did he just not want to be here? I don’t know and it doesn’t matter anymore, it’s over and done with.
Bucks fans – can we try to collectively make a New Year’s Resolution to stop this ongoing narrative? It truly doesn’t help anything…
After seeing him somewhat struggle in action against the Bucks at Fiserv Forum, this would be the perfect time to put this issue to bed. We should be heading into the year 2020 “all gas, no freakin breaks!”
If the Bucks fall short of their goal this season, there will be countless “We would have won it with Brogdon!!!” posts all over social media. And if you are one of those fans waiting for this team to fail just to prove your point… well I’m sorry, because I’m having a hell of a lot more fun on this ride than you are!
https://twitter.com/_live_k/status/1209182747262107655?s=20
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @BucksLead for the latest Bucks news and insight.
