Milwaukee Bucks: The potential impact of Tyler Zeller

The Milwaukee Bucks have traded one of their guard assets for a big in Tyler Zeller. Lets see how this may impact the Bucks.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Milwaukee Bucks have traded Rashad Vaughn and a second round pick for Tyler Zeller. They have done this to fix the glaring hole they have at the backup center position.

Zeller, is a 7’0″ center who has played on for three teams in his five years in the league. He was taken with the 17th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. In his five years, Zeller has played 382 games, starting 164 of them. In these games, Zeller has averaged 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He is a player who knows his game, shooting 50.4 percent from the field for his entire career.

This season, the Brooklyn Nets have played Zeller in 42 games, starting him in 33 of them. For the Bucks, Zeller will not be starting. John Henson has this role locked down. Zeller is going to come on in a backup role, providing a size and presence Thon Maker has simply not bee able to provide.

His potential impact

Zeller is never going to be an impact player. He is not going to give a team a double-double every night. What he is going to do is come on to the court when called upon and give full effort with his greatest impact coming on the glass.

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The Bucks have been taken apart at the center position by some of the best bigs in the game. John Henson is an honest toiler who works hard on defense. Thon Maker, despite his improvement for a time last year, is still too slight to compete.

If Zeller can take the middle for the second unit, Maker can play the stretch-4 position, which takes some pressure off his development. It is Maker’s ability to run the court like a guard and shoot the 3-ball that will cause matchup problems for most backup 4s.

Zeller, who prefers to stay in the traditional home of the center, also has the ability to rebound on both ends of the floor. This will give Maker greater confidence when he is shooting from deep as there is a greater potential for a rebound with Zeller manning the paint.

Add to this, Zeller is a veteran presence on a young Bucks team. During his time with the Boston Celtics, Zeller went to the playoffs three times. This is crucial for the Bucks this season as they are pushing for a deep run this season.

Was the cost worth it?

In order to acquire Zeller, the Milwaukee Bucks had to give up Vaughn and a second round draft pick. Given Zeller has been a starter at various times in his career, the price was good. The Bucks have been struggling to find space in their rotation for Vaughn, who is a streaky scorer.

Both of their contracts for the season are comparable. Zeller is on $1.7 million for the season, while Vaughn is a shade under $1.9 million. However, Vaughn is going to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

If Zeller works out in the lineup, the Bucks have the option of picking up his 2018-19 contract, which currently stands at $1.9 million. It is also not guaranteed. This gives them a level of surety for next year. Given Jabari Parker is going to want close to a max contract next year, good value contracts like this are vital.

Basically, the Bucks moved a guard struggling for minutes to shore up a position of need. They did this at minimal risk to the organization going forward, all while preparing for a deep playoff run. As far as moves go, this is a small but solid one.

Next: 2018 NBA Draft big board: End of January

The Bucks do not need to make a big splash, their stars are performing. It is the supporting cast that needs the tweaking.