The Milwaukee Bucks have been busy retaining their own players in free agency thus far. Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, and Jae Crowder have all been re-signed for the 2023-24 season. However, they have also seen two key players from last season sign elsewhere.
Joe Ingles signed a two-year deal with the Orlando Magic for $22 million. While losing Ingles is certainly a loss, the Bucks’ frontcourt depth will not be hurt.
Jevon Carter, though, signed with the Chicago Bulls, leaving the Bucks without a backup point guard. His 42% three point shooting will also be sorely missed.
The Milwaukee Bucks Could Sign Kendrick Nunn or Corey Joseph
While there may be some negativity among Bucks fans regarding the salary cap and the number of players on Milwaukee’s roster, the fact of the matter is that they already have a pretty good all-around group of players:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Khris Middleton
- Jrue Holiday
- Brook Lopez
- Grayson Allen
- Bobby Portis
- Pat Connaughton
- Jae Crowder
- MarJon Beauchamp
As seen, that is a fairly good group; but it is noticeably lacking a backup point guard. Unfortunately, due to the Bucks’ cap situation, Carter’s replacement is likely to come on a minimum contract. Eric Nehm of The Athletic suggested two possible candidates: Kendrick Nunn and Corey Joseph:
“While their options might not be plentiful, there are a few players who stand out. Kendrick Nunn may be an interesting option. He missed the entire 2021-22 season with a bone bruise in his knee and has not looked like the player he was with the Miami Heat since returning from the injury, but he is still only 27 and may be an interesting buy-low candidate.
“Cory Joseph has been in the league for 12 seasons and spent the last two seasons with Detroit. While at 31 he is a bit older, Joseph played a key role on a few playoff teams in San Antonio earlier in his career.”
Prior to hurting his knee, Nunn made the NBA All Rookie First Team in 2019-20. That season, he averaged 15.3 points while shooting 35% from three. In his second season, Nunn averaged 14.6 points while shooting 38.1% from three.
After his knee injury, though, his production has not returned to level it was prior. It is interesting to note, though, that after being traded to the Washington Wizards last season, he shot 39.2% from three and averaged 7.5 points off the bench. That is very close to Carter’s production last year (8.0 points and 42% three-point shooting).
Joseph is a very similar player, though a few years older than Nunn. Over the last two seasons with the Detroit Pistons, Joseph averaged 7.5 points while shooting 40.1% from three.
Another benefit of signing Joseph would be that he has NBA Championship experience already, having won a title with the Spurs in 2014.
Both would be excellent choices to replace Carter, but again, either will have to be signed to a veteran minimum contract. The Bucks cannot afford anything more than that.
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