What could the Milwaukee Bucks roster look like in 3 years?

Possible Free Agents

The Milwaukee Bucks will likely not have much money to sign big free agents in the next few years. If they keep Giannis, then his salary combined with Middleton’s will take up most of their payroll in addition to Bledsoe and Lopez. However, there are some guys that could be great budget pieces.

Some may seem a bit out there right now, but remember that Lopez signed a league-minimum deal when he was just one year removed from averaging over 20 points per game in Brooklyn. Some guys will chase rings and sign for cheap in Milwaukee and while it still isn’t a huge free-agent destination, Wesley Matthews, Brook Lopez, and Marvin Williams are proof that it’s a real possibility for free agents now even if they won’t make as much as they could elsewhere.

These are mostly guys that will be on the wrong side of 30 and starting to decline in 2022 that could squeak out a year or two of production in Milwaukee. I’ve divided them into guards and forwards with one center.

First the guards. The list is some pretty recognizable but not bank-breaking names. Reggie Bullock, Patty Mills, Patrick Beverly, and Derrick Rose. Bullock will be a free agent after the 2020-21 season and will be 30 years old. He’s been on cheap contracts his whole career and has improved his scoring in the last few years as a career 38.5 percent three-point shooter. He could want a raise, but he might take less money to finally be part of a winning team.

Mills will become a free agent the same year as Bullock and is similarly a 38.9 percent career shooter from deep. The difference is Mills has already been paid and has won an NBA championship. His experience could push Milwaukee over the hump.

“Mr 94 Feet” Patrick Beverly is a 38.0 percent three-point shooter but lives for defense. He’s already 31 and could give the Bucks a year or two of three-and-D at the end of his career.

Finally, former MVP Derrick Rose. He’s had a scoring resurgence in the last two years averaging 18 points per game in both. He even shot a career-high 37 percent from three in his year in Minnesota. Still, he’s never even sniffed a championship and could jump at the chance to do it late in his career with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Now the forwards and center. The center is Dewayne Dedmon who can stretch the floor well. This season, he wasn’t able to get it going, but in his two years in Atlanta, one of them with Budenholzer, he shot 35.8 percent from behind the arc. The rest of these forwards can shoot it too. They are Markieff Morris, Thaddeus Young, Robert Covington, Mike Scott, Joe Ingles.

Before you reject some of these as ridiculous, just remember that the Bucks only need to land maybe two or three of the guys out of all of them. Morris is a seasoned pro who has scored off the bench or as a starter everywhere he’s been with a career scoring average of 11.5 points per game. Young is also a proven scorer who has averaged 13.2 points per game over his career, but hasn’t seen many deep playoff runs.

Covington has averaged 12.8 points per game over his career. He’s currently on a rich contract with Houston, but once that expires he might look to Milwaukee to go ring chasing. Mike Scott doesn’t have the scoring pedigree of the others but he can shoot it and brings a toughness and edge to the game. He will likely be cheap and could take some solid minutes as a three-and-D wing.

Finally, my personal favorite, Joe Ingles. He’s a 40.7 career three-point shooter and he is a phenomenal passer, a sneaky-good defender, and he has a sky-high IQ. He does so many great things for the Jazz that don’t show up on the stat sheet in addition to his statistical contributions.

Ingles will be 34 in the summer of 2022 and that is when his contract with the Jazz runs out. He’ll be regressing, but his IQ won’t go away and I’ll bet that he’ll still be shooting in the upper 30s percentage from three. One year of minimum contract Ingles would be a dream scenario for the Milwaukee Bucks.

So with all of those options on the board, here is my rough 2022-23 roster prediction:

Point Guard: Eric Bledsoe, Patty Mills, Any minimum contract point guard

Shooting Guard: Donte Divincenzo, Sterling Brown, 2022 2nd Round Pick

Small Forward: Khris Middleton, Joe Ingles, D.J. Jefferies

Power Forward: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Saddiq Bey, Thanasis Antetokounmpo

Center: Brook Lopez, Dewayne Dedmon, Robin Lopez