{"id":113450,"date":"2024-12-21T08:55:40","date_gmt":"2024-12-21T13:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=113450"},"modified":"2024-12-21T08:55:40","modified_gmt":"2024-12-21T13:55:40","slug":"bucks-creative-dennis-smith-jr-roster-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/21\/bucks-creative-dennis-smith-jr-roster-move\/","title":{"rendered":"Bucks Get Creative With Recent Roster Move"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Christmas may have come early for the Milwaukee Bucks, or at least their G League affiliate.<\/p>\n<h2>Bucks Get Creative With Dennis Smith Jr. Roster Move<\/h2>\n<p>On Friday, the Wisconsin Herd revealed that they signed former ninth overall pick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/smithde03.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dennis Smith Jr.<\/a>, who was reportedly <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Urbodo\/status\/1870031568862883906\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">in Real Madrid\u2019s crosshairs<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>An athletic point guard, Smith\u2019s career obviously didn\u2019t pan out as expected after he left NC State. Due to the controversial proliferation of three-pointers, he quickly fell out of favor. As a result, the North Carolina native bounced around the league after being drafted in 2017. Though just 27 years old, he\u2019s already played for six teams.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Welcome to the Herd, <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Dennis1SmithJr?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Dennis1SmithJr<\/a> \ud83e\udd1e<a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/HerdUp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#HerdUp<\/a> \ud83e\udd8c <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ZQPPRPBRky\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/ZQPPRPBRky<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Wisconsin Herd (@WisconsinHerd) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WisconsinHerd\/status\/1870126759389057070?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 20, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>If he manages to get called up by the Bucks, they\u2019ll be his seventh. If seven is indeed a lucky number, Smith could have his best season yet. However, even though many view basketball as a numbers game in this era, they aren\u2019t banking on numerology.<\/p>\n<p>Smith, who averaged 12.5 points, 6.9 assists, and 2.3 steals per 36 minutes with the Brooklyn Nets last season, will have to show his mettle. With that being said, while his skillset is imperfect, he could eventually emerge as Milwaukee\u2019s backup point guard.<\/p>\n<h3>Smooth Maneuver, Cougar<\/h3>\n<p>The Bucks have a top-heavy roster. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/antetgi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a>, a two-time NBA MVP and one-time Defensive Player of the Year, does most of the heavy lifting. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lillada01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Damian Lillard<\/a>, an eight-time All-Star, is the lightning strike that accompanies Antetokounmpo\u2019s thunderous booms.<\/p>\n<p>After that, it gets a bit bleak for the midwest marauders.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/middlkh01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Khris Middleton<\/a> would be the perfect third option <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/08\/khris-middletons-return-meaning-for-milwaukee-bucks\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">if he could stay healthy<\/a> but that\u2019s been his Achilles heel. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/portibo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bobby Portis<\/a>\u00a0has long been one of the league\u2019s better sixth men but tends to be inconsistent at both ends. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lopezbr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brook Lopez<\/a> was underrated in his prime but the 36-year-old is now a role player. Together, this trio makes a whopping $67.3 million this season, effectively handicapping the front office.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, the Bucks have had to get creative in their effort to add a high-quality impact player.<\/p>\n<p>To this point, this has led to them convincing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/trentga02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gary Trent Jr.<\/a> to sign with them for the veteran\u2019s minimum in the offseason after he averaged 16.4 points per game with his previous team. Yet, even this hasn\u2019t worked out for them. Trent got off to a rough start and 2023 No. 36 pick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jacksan01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andre Jackson Jr.<\/a> has replaced him in the starting lineup.<\/p>\n<h3>The Trade Market Is Their Best Friend<\/h3>\n<p>At this point of the season, moves like adding Smith to the Herd roster could turn out to be a difference-maker. However, the trade market is where they should put their focus in their attempts to fortify the roster. It\u2019ll likely take more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/beaucma01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marjon Beauchamp<\/a>, who played well under former head coach Adrian Griffin last season but is <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/31\/bucks-marjon-beauchamp-decision-brings-doc-rivers-question\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">now on the trade block<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wrighde01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Delon Wright<\/a> could also be moved, as he\u2019s underwhelmed as Lillard\u2019s backup (which opens the door for Smith). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/connapa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pat Connaughton<\/a>, who is also having one of his worst seasons, has long been <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/01\/24\/nba-rumors-milwaukee-bucks-looking-to-trade-two-players\/\" target=\"_self\">the subject of speculation<\/a>. Yet, moving a big fish \u2014like Portis \u2014might be their best option.<\/p>\n<p>Not only are Portis\u2019s on-off numbers a team-low -10.7 points per 100 possessions this season, his salary is enough to net a bonafide rotation player.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Christmas may have come early for the Milwaukee Bucks, or at least their G League affiliate. Bucks Get Creative With Dennis Smith Jr. Roster Move On Friday, the Wisconsin Herd revealed that they signed former ninth overall pick Dennis Smith Jr., who was reportedly in Real Madrid\u2019s crosshairs. An athletic point guard, Smith\u2019s career obviously [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":113453,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,1608,6,61,62,3],"tags":[793,297,4774],"class_list":["post-113450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bucks","category-basketball","category-nets","category-international-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-dennis-smith-jr","tag-nba-free-agency","tag-rumors"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113450"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113454,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113450\/revisions\/113454"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}