Milwaukee Bucks a “Strong Suitor” for Bogdan Bogdanovic

It was recently reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic that the Milwaukee Bucks will be strong suitors for Sacramento’s Bogdan Bogdanovic.

As the Milwaukee Bucks enter what may end up being the most important offseason in franchise history, there have already been plenty of rumors circulating after they suffered an early post-season exit. Some of this chatter includes Eric Bledsoe’s future with the team, a potential trade for Chris Paul, and most recently, pursuing Bogdan Bogdanovic.

In an article by Shams Charania of The Athletic (subscription required), he reported that the Bucks will be a “strong suitor” for Bagdonovic, who is currently a restricted free agent with the Sacramento Kings, as Milwaukee “pursues additional playmaking and shooting this offseason.”

This past season, the Bucks averaged 38.9 3-point attempts per game, which was the fourth-most in the NBA; however, they hit only 35.6 percent of those shots, and that ranked 17th. While there are certainly other factors that contributed to their early postseason exit, their shooting from deep played a significant role in their struggles, just as it did in the 2018-2019 Eastern Conference Finals against Toronto.

This is why the potential addition of Bagdonovic makes sense for the Bucks. With Giannis Antetokounmpo drawing so much attention in the paint, it creates space and, therefore, open shots on the perimeter for his teammates, but these are shots that Milwaukee has to start hitting at a higher rate if they hope to find more playoff success. And Bogdanovic could help provide that boost along with an ability to create plays that was missing from this Bucks team last season.

In his third NBA season and third season with the Kings, Bagdonovic put together his best statistical season. Averaging 29 minutes per game in 61 appearances, Bagdonovic would average 15.1 points on 44 percent shooting from the field and 37.2 percent from deep on over seven 3-point attempts per game. He also contributed 3.4 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game as well.

Now, the tricky part in all of this is that as a restricted free agent, the Kings can match any offer made to Bagdonovic, but the big question is, will they?

Earlier this year in the spring, The Athletic’s Jason Jones (subscription required) reported that bringing back Bagdonovic was at the top of Sacramento’s offseason to-do list. However, since then, they’ve undergone some restructuring and have a new GM at the helm. So where exactly Bagdonovic stands with this current regime remains a bit unclear.

There’s also the fact that the Milwaukee Bucks don’t have much in terms of available cap space, and they certainly won’t be the only team in hot pursuit of Bagdonovic’s services.

For now, we will wait and see how this, along with the rest of Milwaukee’s offseason plays out, but for a team that is entering their final season with Giannis under contract – that is unless he signs the supermax this offseason – GM Jon Horst needs to do everything in his power to help get this team to the NBA Finals in 2021.