The Milwaukee Bucks’ reasoning for Serge Ibaka and their next moves

What will Ibaka give the Bucks? Remarkable defense off the post, outside shot (36% on the 2014/15 treble that brought the treble into his game), another leading figure in the dressing room. The tall man from Brazzaville, Congo is on his contract year, he’s motivated to prove he stays at a high level, is compatible with the role he’s going to take in his career from now on and can play in either position on the front line. . Either with Giannis at his side or with Portis giving the three around them two options at 4 and 5 to score behind the 7:25 line.

Logic says we’ll be seeing Ibaka more timed with Antetokunbo as he can play a similar role to the one we’re seeing Portis in this year. In other words, he can open up the field, stay on the three-pointer and leave Gianni’s spot on the racquet, leaving him with two options: attacking head-on and passing through the touchline to a big man who doesn’t want to shy away from executing and convert assists into assists with a good level of accuracy.

In general, the Bucks don’t have anything to lose with Ibaka, DiVincenzo would leave at the end of the season anyway and because he wants a more important role, but also because he won’t get the money he’s looking for in Milwaukee. The Congolese knows what the playoffs mean, he has a great opportunity to reach a championship and find his next contract during this term.

The Bucks’ Next Goals

After covering their prime needs, John Horst and Mike Budenholzer will not rush to fill the roster. From the moment benchers Rodney Hood-Sammy Ozelege left, there are 12 guaranteed contracts on the roster, two two-way and one ten-day, Greg Monroe’s, likely to last through the end of the season will remain in the team. Simply put, the Bucks have two or three positions open (depending on how they manage Monroe) to obviously fill post-acquisitions. They definitely need a guard and now a body at 3-4.

The Bucks depth chart at the moment:

PG: Jro Holliday, George Hill, Lindell Wigington *
SG: Grayson Allen, Wesley Matthews, Jordan Noora
SF: Chris Middleton, Pat Conaton
PF: Giannis Antetokounbo, Thanasis Antetokounbo
C: Bobby Portis, Serge Ibaka, Sandro Mamukelasville *, Brooke Lopez **

* Two-way contracts
** Injured

The Bucks need an ace that will also act as a safety valve in the event of a problem with Holiday or Hill, and they will have options from the publications. Eric Blencho is likely to leave Portland, Goran Dragic is all evidence he will be free from the Spurs, perhaps the Knicks are leaving Keba Walker when they see their year slipped, they want such a notable ace in Milwaukee forever , but also you have even more flexibility in the shapes with three shorts.

Once Ojelege, who was brought on to fill even a small part of the void left by PJ Tucker joining the Miami Heat, will need another body capable of occupying the 3-4 positions. An experienced backup player, a good defender who should face Kevin Durand for a few minutes in a possible clash with the Nets.

In summary, the Bucks now have six really good players in positions 1-3, they’ve found the big replacement they’ve been looking for months, and they’ll go with no stress until they get the last two or three cover last positions of squad . The important thing is to stay healthy and find a rhythm for the best possible regular-season placement (their goal is first place in the East region) while they wait for the final “hits” that will propel them into overdrive against the competition.

However, once they are in the 12 guaranteed contracts, they must go back down to 14 within two weeks. As for the salary cap and the luxury tax? With the acquisition of Ibaka, they went from $46.3 million to $54.4 million, with the team’s total cost of the season reaching $213.6 million. If either Monroe is handed over, another must be found in Milwaukee within the next 14 days.