Milwaukee Bucks Add Shooting Around Their Core

With the future tied to Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Jabari Parker and now Thon Maker, the Milwaukee Bucks added shooting around them, hoping to make a leap in the 2016-17 season.

Every NBA offseason is different. Each team comes in with the modest goal of improving their organization, but all travel down different roads to do it. Some teams, like the Memphis Grizzlies, looked to bring back a superstar and remodel their roster in a more modern fashion.

The Philadelphia 76ers drafted their potential superstar and used free agency to help tweak the roster in his favor. The Boston Celtics navigated through the draft and free agent meetings to land Al Horford.

The Milwaukee Bucks had one clear goal — improve the shooting around their future core.

It’s an admirable core. Giannis Antetokounmpo took off like a rocket once he became the primary ball-handler in the second half of the season. Khris Middleton became a much better playmaker, evolving from his one-time “3-and-D” status.

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Jabari Parker missed most of his rookie season with a torn ACL, but returned last season and showed flashes. Those three, combined with the penthouse-like ceiling for 2016 10th overall pick Thon Maker makes up the future of the Bucks.

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The issue? Not a ton of shooting there at the moment. Giannis currently does everything but space the floor, hitting 25 percent of his long balls last season.  Parker matched Giannis’ 25 percent shooting.

Middleton knocked down 39 percent from his threes, but in a league where you need that element on your roster, it became clear that Milwaukee needed more shooting.

Last season, the Bucks had the length on the defensive end but missed out on the shooting. Finishing 24th in the league in offensive efficiency was one thing, but Milwaukee finished dead last in the league in percentage of three-point field goals attempted by a decent margin.

The Bucks were at 18.9 percent, while the 29th team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, was at 20.9 percent. It was Middleton and Jerryd Bayless and not much else in the shooting department.

But in the offseason, the Bucks decided that their shooting deficiency was going to change and for the most part, all of Milwaukee’s moves were made with finding the right shooters around the quartet of Parker, Middleton, Giannis and (eventually) Maker in mind .

The first move to fix this woe was a second round pick. Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon projects as a “3-and-D” wing; his shooting will make him an instant role player.

In his senior season, Brogdon knocked down 39 percent of his 192 threes and finished his career as a 36 percent shooter from the outside. If he can avoid the rookie struggles early, his overall skill set, highlighted by his shooting ability.

Along with Brogdon, the Bucks added two more shooters in free agency — Matthew Dellavedova and Mirza Teletovic. Neither are stars; you can make the argument that neither fit the description of “starter.”

However, both fill roles around their core. Specifically, the shooting touch they add should create open the floor.

Dellavedova was benched in the Finals, but his solid shooting and pesky defense alongside Middleton and Antetokounmpo is a good fit.

The addition of Delly also allows Middleton to serve as a secondary ball-handler, allowing him and his shooting (44 percent on catch and shoot threes last season) to help the spacing.

A trio of Giannis, Middleton and Dellavedova gives Antetokounmpo two available shooters to work with as he slices and dices through defenses.

As for Mirza, he’s a welcomed addition to a team full of stationary big men. Milwaukee’s combination of Greg Monroe, Miles Plumlee and John Henson provide various levels of interior offense, but none can really stretch a defense without giving up something.

In comes Teletovic, who can shoot the ball and form a combination with each of them. Monroe is probably the toughest of the three, but Plumlee and Henson are both solid bigs who can cover for Teletovic’s defensive downfalls.

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And, again, the ability to let it fly from beyond the arc is a fine get.

A hypothetical lineup of Dellavedova, Middleton, Giannis, Teletovic and one of Plumlee or Henson gives Milwaukee more balance on the floor with three capable creators, three shooters and some decent defensive players who can cover a few positions on the perimeter.

There’s always a chance that either Parker or Antetokounmpo can develop into a better shooter. It should be noted that Parker hit 35 percent of his threes at Duke, operating as a lead option.

However, in the event that they don’t become even average shooters, the Bucks were proactive in adding pieces who filled that specific role around them. Both Teletovic and Dellavedova are solid shooters. If Brogdon can contribute right away, he could be another solid floor spacer in time.

The Bucks spent some money and didn’t add any old pieces on their roster. They added the right pieces — shooters who can fill gaps with some of current players already in tow.

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If everything can come together, Milwaukee will have a chance to enter the fray of an already loaded Eastern Conference playoff race.