Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
The Milwaukee Bucks are one of the hardest teams to figure out right now. It’s tough to know just what direction they are headed, especially with the situation at hand with their top two guards. Both Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis are very similar players – and for the Bucks, that’s not a good thing.
Both guards have a knack of wanting to shoot first, then pass. For Milwaukee, who have up-and-coming big men in Larry Sanders and Ersan Ilyasova, that’s not exactly the best scenario for them offensively. Jennings and Ellis both shot the ball poorly last year and could wind up finding themselves in a new uniform in 2013.
Ellis, specifically, was offered an extension that would give him a total of three years and around $36 million – counting this year. Ellis rejected it in hopes he would find a similar offer later.
For the Bucks, I’m not quite sure why they decided to try and bring him back. Instead of wanting to keep both him and Jennings it would make more sense to build around their big man Sanders. Especially in a small market, Jennings and Ellis likely wouldn’t be happy there much longer if re-signed.
Last season, Ellis shot his worst percentage since his rookie year with the Golden State Warriors at just over 41 percent. His averages look good on paper until you understand that fact – Ellis put up over 19 points and six assists.
For the record, Jennings’ shooting was even worse last season. But that’s an entire different story altogether.
If the Bucks would like to compete in the future for years to come, they have to be happy that Ellis is leaving and also, quite frankly, hope that Jennings bolts too. In the long run, this will work out better for a team in Milwaukee and they will have much more money to work with to try and lure in other pieces to their puzzle.
Ryan Heckman is a Senior NBA writer for www.RantSports.com also contributing to the NFL. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.
