NBA Free Agency 2017: 5 offseason targets for the Milwaukee Bucks

3. C.J. Miles

A move to Milwaukee would be mutually beneficial for Miles and the Bucks. Dependable long-range shooting has been an issue for the Bucks for years now. Last season Milwaukee finished in the league’s bottom ten in both 3-point attempts and makes. Miles is a high volume 3-point shooter that has generally shot within the ballpark of 40 percent over the past few seasons.  He’s a streaky shooter, but he could legitimately space the floor for this Bucks team.

With the Pacers Miles played in some fairly stagnant, isolation heavy offenses. Those teams never had a nuanced passing attack. The Bucks however have been effective at moving the ball on offense. Last season they finished within the NBA’s top five in assist percentage (per ESPN Hollinger Stats). Although the Bucks didn’t take a ton of 3-pointers, a high percentage of their attempts came from the corners (per Basketball-Reference). Miles was deadly from the corners last season shooting just over 50 percent. With him on the floor, the Bucks offense would become much more dangerous.

The Bucks will likely have to use their full MLE to get Miles. That seems like a reasonable price even for a player that is often streaky and doesn’t defend at a high level. But Miles has the potential to raise Milwaukee’s offensive ceiling. Using that exception would put the Bucks dangerously close to the tax line as their salary sheet currently stands. Milwaukee would probably have to part ways with either Mirza Teletovic or John Henson to seriously pursue Miles.

Miles has some skill overlap with Teletovic. Milwaukee added Teletovic to alleviate some of their shooting woes last summer and although he underachieved in many respects, he was part of some of Milwaukee’s most potent lineups. The Bucks would likely be wise to keep Teletovic and attempt to trade Henson. With the emergence of Thon Maker, Henson is becoming increasingly expendable.