Milwaukee Bucks Rumors: Team “Expected to Pursue” Lou Williams

It’s been a quick turnaround for Milwaukee Bucks GM Jon Horst and Co. as just nine days after they were crowned NBA Champions, the draft took place. And now we are just a day away from free agency beginning.

Brynn Forbes and Bobby Portis have already exercised their player options — although there is hope that Milwaukee can lure Portis back — and many have the same hope that PJ Tucker will be able to return as well–he is also a free agent.

This offseason, the cash-strapped Milwaukee Bucks aren’t going to have a ton of financial flexibility, which will of course limit who they can sign, but according to one report from Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype, Milwaukee is “expected to pursue” former Sixth-Man of the Year, Lou Williams.

Scotto would also add that the Atlanta Hawks and Williams have mutual interests in working out a deal, and in addition to Milwaukee, the Indiana Pacers are also interested. Williams is reportedly looking to land a two or three-year deal wherever he ends up.

Although not exactly known for his defense, Williams would provide the Milwaukee Bucks with a legitimate scoring threat off the bench. By Williams’ lofty standards, the 2020-2021 season was a down one for him overall, but he was still very solid. With both the LA Clippers and Hawks, Williams would average 21.6 minutes per game and shoot 39.9 percent from 3 on 2.6 attempts per game while averaging 11.3 points, 3.4 assists, and 2.1 rebounds.

However, it’s worth noting that with Atlanta, Williams did hit 44 percent of his shots from deep. In Games 4 and 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Williams got the starts with Trae Young sidelined. He averaged just over 35 minutes during those two games and hit 43 percent of his 3-point shots on 3.5 attempts per game. Williams also averaged 19.0 points, 1.0 steal, and 6.5 assists.

For a larger sample size, Williams has averaged 18.3 points per game, 2.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 0.8 steals in 27.6 minutes over the last four seasons combined. As I alluded to above, he’s been the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year on three different occasions.

Last season the Milwaukee Bucks struggled to find consistent production from the guard position off the bench. DJ Augustine just couldn’t get things going during his time here and was eventually traded away to Houston. Meanwhile, Jeff Teague had his own struggles and will likely head elsewhere in free agency.

Williams would provide this already stout Bucks team with an immediate upgrade at a position of need — the backup guard — and he could be in Milwaukee’s limited price range as well.