Milwaukee Bucks: 5 cheap options in 2017 NBA free agency
4. Justin Holiday
No player available at their price range is going to become a star for the Bucks, but they don’t need that. With Antetokounmpo, Parker, Middleton and Maker around, what this team needs are solid role players. Justin Holiday fits that description.
The older brother of New Orleans Pelicans guard (and pending free agent) Jrue Holiday, it is rumored that Justin may wish to play alongside his brother. If that is the case, the Bucks have no shot, because they would have to move mountains to clear enough space for a point guard of Jrue’s value.
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But whether Jrue Holiday stays put or goes to a team unwilling to sign Justin, the Bucks could pick up a solid contributor on the wing. Holiday had a cup of coffee with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2013 before sticking in the league in 2015 as a bench contributor on the first Golden State title team. He bounced between Atlanta and Chicago and finally spent the past season in New York with the Knicks.
Holiday is an average and inconsistent three-point shooter. In 2016 he hit 34.3 percent of his long-range shots, and last season pulled that up to 35.5 percent. If he can continue a gradual increase he will be worth the few million it costs to sign him.
Defensively Holiday can be a solid piece as well, standing at 6’7″ with a 7’0″ wingspan. He is a perfect fit physically in Sean Sweeney’s aggressive scheme, with the size to switch and the length to confuse passing lanes. In many ways he is a “Tony Snell lite” and could play that role off the bench, especially if Snell were to leave.