Assessing the Milwaukee Bucks needs ahead of NBA free agency

The Milwaukee Bucks lost their grip on the Eastern Conference when the Boston Celtics knocked them out of the playoffs.

Now Bucks general manager Jon Horst is tasked with upgrading the roster to get Milwaukee back into the NBA Finals.

The Milwaukee Bucks have five clear needs to address this off-season:

1. Backup point guard.
2. An all-around scorer to play behind Khris Middleton.
3. Adding a bigger-sized wing player in the PJ Tucker mold.
4. Adding more three-and-D players.
5. Getting younger at center with Brook Lopez entering the final year of his deal.

The Milwaukee Bucks addressed getting a bigger-sized wing player in the NBA Draft.

Beauchamp has good length and athleticism. He is 6’7” with a long wing span and enjoys playing defense. If he can catch on quickly to playing NBA defense, he can help the rotation, especially in a playoff matchup against the Celtics.

That still leaves the Milwaukee Bucks with four other needs along with re-signing Bobby Portis if he opts out of his deal.

The Bucks will be limited in how they address those needs based on being over the salary cap. The Bucks have a $6.4 million Taxpayer Mid-Level exception they can use to acquire a player. They have a $1.5 million trade exception. Finally, they can also use some veteran minimum contracts.

Horst will have to get creative in how he uses his limited resources to upgrade the roster. He gets his next chance to improve the roster on Thursday when free agency starts.

Like any good general manager, he will also take into account how any of the players that he potentially adds fits into the modern way NBA teams construct their rosters.