Offseason changes
10. Drafted Donte DiVincenzo: With the 17th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, the Bucks selected Donte DiVincenzo. The guard was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2018 Final Four, playing a key role in Villanova winning the title. A Delaware native, DiVincenzo was one of the fastest-rising players in the draft class, and provided the Bucks with a high-energy option off the bench.
11. Signed Brook Lopez and Ersan Ilyasova: Part of the new vision for the Bucks was a spaced floor, and to accomplish that, the team needed shooters at all five positions. With Thon Maker not reliable enough for a team with aspirations of contention, the Bucks added a pair of stretch-bigs in Ersan Ilyasova and Brook Lopez.
Ilyasova has been a reliable rotation piece, but the true find of the offseason was Lopez. Unwanted in the wake of LeBron James signing with the Los Angeles Lakers, Lopez signed in Milwaukee for just $3.5 million for one year. He has been a key part of the Bucks’ hot start to the 2018-19 season, stroking it so often from outside he has received the nickname “Splash Mountain,” which is honestly one of my favorite nicknames in all of sports.
12. Jabari Parker signs with Chicago: One of the greatest disappointments of the Jason Kidd era was how forward Jabari Parker never became the star he seemed destined to become. Some of that is due to injury, as Parker tore his ACL twice during his rookie contract. Some of that is due to Giannis Antetokounmpo blossoming and needing minutes at the 4. But somewhere along the way, Kidd lost his chance to grow Parker into a two-way player who fit into a successful team ecosystem.
Parker signing with the Chicago Bulls was the end of an era as the team let go of the former second overall pick. It allowed them the roster space to add Ilyasova and develop a different roster identity than one focused on still trying to utilize Parker.