Milwaukee Bucks: Sign PG Jeremy Lin.
The Milwaukee Bucks have a dynamic young corps headlined by the next great star in this league in point forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. He’ll be an All-Star as early as this February. The problem with Jason Kidd’s Bucks is that atrocious play at point guard will continue to keep the Bucks out of the Eastern Conference Playoffs unless general manager John Hammond is willing to move on from Michael Carter-Williams.
The Carter-Williams blockbuster trade from the 2015 NBA trade deadline hurt the Bucks’ ceiling considerably by sending near All-Star Brandon Knight to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for the poor shooting, turnover prone Carter-Williams from the lowly Philadelphia 76ers.
Addressing the starting point guard will make a world of difference in Milwaukee. Expect Hammond to go hard after Memphis Grizzlies star point guard Mike Conley and maybe even former Buck Brandon Jennings of the Orlando Magic to take over for Carter-Williams. Running Antetokounmpo at the point forward is exciting, but could have harsh consequences if he ends up getting hurt carrying too much of the Bucks’ offensive burden.
Pulling off a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves to get Ricky Rubio makes the most sense. One option Milwaukee should not consider is making Charlotte Hornets backup point guard Jeremy Lin a starter again.
Lin has a great handle, can orchestrate a second team’s offense magnificently as a sixth man, and is a great finisher at the rim, but he’s not supremely athletic, he’s a mediocre, undersized defender, and is not a particularly great jump shooter either.
Sure, he can run the point better than Carter-Williams or Antetokounmpo can, but Lin won’t fit into Kidd’s innovative defensive schemes at all. Milwaukee won’t get better shooting the ball either with a high-volume shooting point guard in Lin. As a backup, maybe, but not as a starter for the 2016-17 Bucks.
Next: Minnesota Timberwolves.