Assessing the Milwaukee Bucks needs ahead of NBA free agency

The Milwaukee Bucks will have to find some rotational players to get them through the season.

The Bucks brought in Jevon Carter and Serge Ibaka to help their rotation get through the season. Jordan Nwora was also used towards the back end of the rotation.

All three players are free agents. Carter and Ibaka are unrestricted, while Nwora is a restricted free agent.

Ibaka is definitely at the tail end of his career and should not be retained. Nwora showed that he can score in the NBA when given some playing time, but his defense did not take a step forward to move up in the rotation. The Milwaukee Bucks probably will let Nwora walk if he finds another team. Otherwise, he might be worth bringing back on his one-year tender offer to see if he can make the jump into a playoff-caliber rotational player.

The Bucks should also entertain bringing back Carter. He had a solid run with the Bucks and did contribute well in the first two games of the Boston series.

If Horst chooses to move on from Carter and Nwora, he can look at this part of their roster to add some three-and-D players. The Bucks could also use the part of this roster-building section to add a young center–although they will probably not find someone of the caliber to replace Lopez in the long run.

Rounding out the final five roster spots.

Thanasis Antetokounmpo will be back to round out the end of the bench. Right now, Beauchamp is in this slot only because he still has to prove he can defend and score at the NBA level. Hugo Besson will be in this class should he choose to come over from New Zealand.

Luca Vildoza was signed very late in the season and showed some flashes in Game 3 against the Bulls in the Eastern Conference First Round playoff series. It was just one game during garbage time, but he is worth keeping on the roster based on the potential he possesses.

Hill’s decline puts him in this roster category. If the Bucks can find someone to take his salary off their hands, they should jump at the chance. Otherwise, they could use his veteran presence in the locker room but not so much on the court.

Sandro Mamukelashvili is in the second year of his two-way contract. He is well-liked among his teammates and still has some upside to develop into a rotation player.

The Bucks added AJ Green as their other two-way player after the NBA draft. The Bucks appear set in this section of their roster construction.