Milwaukee Bucks looking to clean up unfinished business

2019-20 Roster

Key Additions: Thanasis Antetokounmpo (free agency), Dragan Bender (free agency), Kyle Korver (free agency), Robin Lopez (free agency), Frank Mason III (two-way), Wesley Matthews (free agency)

Key Departures: Malcolm Brogdon (trade), Trevon Duval (waived), Pau Gasol (free agency), Nikola Mirotic (overseas), Tony Snell (trade), Christian Wood (waived)

On the surface the Milwaukee Bucks had relatively little turnover this offseason, retaining the majority of their rotation and adding veteran help to the bench. That fact belies the activity and cap machinations it took to bring the band back this summer.

Brook Lopez was one of the best bargains in basketball last season, but on a one-year deal that did not give the Bucks any appreciable Bird rights to re-sign Lopez at his market value. To bring him back the team had to waive George Hill and perform moves in a specific order to sign Lopez, then bring back Hill, then sign Khris Middleton to a new contract.

While the team would have brought Malcolm Brogdon back at a reasonable number, it quickly became clear that the guard was going to get a massive contract that would have seriously hindered the Bucks’ financial options down the road.

Whether it was worth it to make a run this season and next with Brogdon at an inflated salary number is a good question; the Bucks decided flipping Brogdon to the Indiana Pacers to save the money and get a draft pick in return was worth it.

That left a hole on the wing to be filled and the team did so by adding Wesley Matthews and Kyle Korver in at small numbers. Robin Lopez was brought in to provide backup center minutes. Dragan Bender and Thanasis Antetokounmpo provide young upside and the latter just adds an extra layer of good will between this team’s superstar and the organization.

For a league that is dealing with massive turnover, the Bucks can rely on their continuity to give them a boost. Whether the additions are enough to offset the loss of Brogdon will have to be played out; adding Matthews seems like a great backup plan, but he is not the same two-way player as Brogdon.

This roster looks similar, but it is going to take very different rotation patterns to maximize their play.