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Milwaukee Bucks are making franchise-altering mistake with Jabari Parker

By Brian Sampson

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 15: Jabari Parker #12 of the Milwaukee Bucks looks on from the bench during the third quarter of Game One of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs against the Boston Celtics during at TD Garden on April 15, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 15: Jabari Parker #12 of the Milwaukee Bucks looks on from the bench during the third quarter of Game One of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs against the Boston Celtics during at TD Garden on April 15, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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The Milwaukee Bucks are reportedly on the verge of losing Jabari Parker to the Chicago Bulls. That would be a colossal mistake on the Bucks part.

Before we dive too far down this rabbit hole, it’s extremely important to note that nothing is official regarding the Milwaukee Bucks, Jabari Parker and the Chicago Bulls. Of course, we know there are plenty of rumors swirling about Parker and the Bulls moving toward an offer sheet, but one hasn’t been signed yet.

There are also whispers that the Bucks might just let Parker walk by removing his qualifying offer altogether. Still, nothing official yet so lets try to remain calm as difficult as that may be.

However, if Milwaukee does decide to let Parker go, it would be a franchise-altering mistake on their part.

Before Giannis Antetokounmpo was a surefire superstar, Parker, the former second overall pick, was supposed to be the face of the franchise. He was almost a guaranteed lock to be a great player in the NBA and he came to a city that was in need of a face of the franchise. Better yet, Parker appeared to enjoy Milwaukee as it was close to his hometown in Chicago.

Unfortunately, Parker’s career didn’t get off to a great start, as he tore his ACL just 25 games into his rookie season. Parker was resilient and fought through it to make it back to the court for the next season where he ended up playing 76 games, but on a minutes restriction.

His third season (2016-17), was the most promising yet. He was averaging 20.1 points per game while snagging 6.2 rebounds and handing out 2.8 assists. He was showing everyone he wasn’t to be counted out yet and just how explosive he can be when he’s two years removed from his ACL surgery.

But then the unthinkable happened. He tore his ACL for the second time and it took all the wind out of his sails. He came back toward the end of last year and found himself in a new role coming off the bench. It was obvious he lost some of his athleticism, but he was slowly finding his groove.

This summer, the Bucks have faced an impossible decision in deciding what to do with the once potential superstar. He’s flashed some great skills and certainly has a lot of untapped potential at just 23-years-old. Unfortunately, a small market like Milwaukee can’t always afford to take high salary risks. Especially when they’re already almost maxed out.

Still, the Bucks can’t afford to let Parker walk without getting anything in return. He’s one of their best assets and most promising players. He has plenty of time ahead of him to turn things around and haunt the Bucks for years on another team. Nonetheless the division-rival Bulls.

Milwaukee has nobody to blame but themselves if they let this happen. They hard-capped themselves by paying guys like Matthew Dellavedova, John Henson and Tony Snell a total of $33.1 million this season. That’s not to mention the $7 million they are paying Ersan Ilyasova after signing him to a deal on the EVE OF FREE AGENCY! My gosh! To make matters worse, they have $7.3 million in dead cap to the likes of Larry Sanders, Spencer Hawes and Mirza Teletovic (who could come off the books in December).

All of those bad decisions have led the Bucks down a road to their biggest one yet. Letting Parker go without getting anything in return. It would be so Milwaukee-ish to watch their former second overall pick become a superstar with a team just 90 minutes down the road and one of their biggest division rivals.

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