Training camp begins for the Milwaukee Bucks next Tuesday and with the 2015-16 season opener just over a month away, it’s time to get back to work for Coach Jason Kidd and his team.
The franchise made some big additions this offseason adding center Greg Monroe, forward Chris Copeland and guards Greivis Vasquez and Rashad Vaughn to the fold. But for the most part, the 2015-16 Bucks will have a similar look to last year’s playoff squad. Milwaukee is fortunate to have gone through very little roster turnover from the 2014-15 team that won 41 games and went six games with the Chicago Bills before bowing out in the first round of the playoffs. In fact, each of the Bucks’ top five scorers from the postseason returns for the 15-16 season.
With that much continuity, it may seem like Coach Kidd has a simple job ahead of him over the next month as he tries to hammer out a rotation during training camp.
However, the volume and versatility of the Milwaukee roster actually leaves Jason with something of an embarrassment of riches as he looks to piece together winning combinations from such a dynamic group. Monroe, the re-signed Khris Middleton, second-year forward Jabari Parker, center John Henson, guard Michael Carter-Williams and swingman Giannis Antetokounmpo will comprise the team’s young core, and Coach Kidd believes he can play almost anyone else on the roster in the rotation.
“We can go with two bigs or Henson can be out there with all smalls,” Jason said when quizzed on the possible shape of his starting lineup. “I can play anybody.”
One of Jason’s biggest objectives this preseason will be figuring out just how Monroe will figure into the mix. The former Detroit Pistons big man was a gargantuan coup for the Bucks in free agency. The 6’11” center averaged 15.9 points and 10 rebounds per game last season, and he recently talked about how he began to feel at home within the Bucks franchise before he even signed.
“They really made it comfortable. It was more of a conversation than anything. That was one thing that definitely made them stick out,” Monroe said. “It wasn’t like they were just pitching stuff at me, they came in and they were real laid back and comfortable and conservative and they just talked to me. I think Khris gets the persistence award. He brought the persistence.”
It was a team effort to recruit the Georgetown product to join the budding Bucks squad, and that effort certainly reflects the franchise’s unified mentality, which trickles all the way down to the roster. Last season, 12 Bucks players averaged seven or more points during the regular season, and 10 averaged six or more in the playoffs, where rotations are often diminished.
But during that postseason run it was Middleton who claimed a leading role. The now 24-year-old swingman averaged a team-high 15.8 points per game during Milwaukee’s tough first-round series with the Chicago Bulls. For Middleton, that postseason performance came on the heels of a regular season where he posted career-highs in points, rebounds and steals. The Bucks rewarded him with a new five contract this offseason and as he gets set to begin his fourth NBA season, Middleton recently attributed that growth to the freedom bestowed upon him by Jason and his staff.
“They just gave me confidence,” Middleton said. “They told me to just go out there and play; don’t worry about everything else.”
Both Monroe and Middleton are bound to be major players for Milwaukee this season, but much of the excitement around the Bucks centers around the potential of Giannis Antetokounmpo as he enters his third season. Antetokounmpo already made major strides in 2014-15 under Coach Kidd.
After averaging 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game as a rookie, he eclipsed all of those numbers in Year 2. Under J-Kidd’s tutelage, The Greek Freak tallied 12.7 points, 6.7 boards and 2.6 dimes during the regular season. Then, like Middleton, he showed his mettle in the playoffs as well, posting 11.5 points, 7.0 boards, 2.7 assists and 1.5 blocks per game against the Bulls,
After the season finished, Antetokounmpo ventured back overseas to continue playing and propelled his Greek National Team to the quarterfinals of the EuroBasket tournament. Jason certainly had his eye on Giannis as he shot 38.5 percent from three, and he’s anxious to see how the added international experience will help the young player in his third NBA campaign.
“The more minutes under his belt in different situations (the better),” Kidd said of Antetokounmpo. “I thought he did a great job this summer. He’s worked on his body and he’s gotten stronger. I know everybody talks about the threes, but those aren’t NBA threes (in FIBA play). Just to remind everybody. But he’s shooting the ball well.”
One more player Jason hopes will figure into the rotation in a big way is second-year forward Jabari Parker. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft out of Duke University put together a tremendous start to his career in 2014, averaging 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds over his first 25 games as a pro. However, in that 25th game, Parker suffered an unfortunate injury when he tore his left ACL. He missed the remainder of his rookie campaign with the injury.
The Bucks plan to have Parker in training camp next week but are erring on the side of caution with their budding star forward. Coach Kidd likes what he has seen so far this offseason from Parker, both physically and mentally, as the 20-year-old looks to make his return from injury.
“He looks extremely good. His body has changed and his spirits are extremely high right now, being on the court,” Kidd said of Parker. “We’ll see how it goes before training camp to see if he’s able to do things.”
Milwaukee’s young core will be guided by third-year point guard Michael Carter-Williams, who was acquired by the Bucks in a trade last February.
Carter-Williams, the 2013-14 Rookie of the Year, only barely got his feet wet in Jason’s system, so this training camp will offer Coach Kidd his first chance to truly groom the 23-year-old point guard into the floor general he envisions. Jason hopes the rest of the young core can revolve around the 6’6” point guard, who will help the Bucks field one of the youngest and biggest lineups in the NBA.
With Coach Kidd leading an exciting young group of players, and a new arena on the way, the feeling around the Bucks organization is overwhelmingly positive. Now the road to taking the next in the process and becoming a consistent winner in the NBA is set to begin.
Training camp opens on Tuesday, Sept. 29, and the Bucks begin their six-game preseason slate on Oct. 6 when they face the team that ended their 2014-15 season, the Chicago Bulls. Tip-off of that game, from Chicago’s United Center is slated for 7 p.m.
