The Milwaukee Bucks had a relatively quiet free agency period, re-signing Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez and seeing Malcolm Brogdon join the Indiana Pacers while Nikola Mirotic went back to Spain. They also made smaller moves such as bringing back George Hill, signing Wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez, and acquiring Kyle Korver.
The Bucks are coming off of a season in which they won a league-best 60 games before being eliminated by the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals, and with Kawhi Leonard now out of the conference, the East could be Milwaukee's for the taking.
However, there are still several questions remaining for the Bucks going into the 2019-20 campaign.
3. Is Their Bench Good Enough?
The Bucks didn't exactly have the best bench in the league this past year, as most of their production came from their starting lineup. So, is their bench going to be good enough next season?
Milwaukee certainly added some nice pieces, as Lopez is a very capable backup for his twin brother, Brook, and Korver remains a terrific perimeter threat. But the Bucks might have some issues with their bench defensively.
This team really doesn't have any truly tough defenders on its pine outside of Sterling Brown, which could pose a problem. Milwaukee certainly has some shooters in guys like Korver and Ersan Ilyasova, but you have to wonder about the potential drop off when some of the starters leave the floor.
Let's remember that a big reason why the Bucks fell to the Raptors was because of their questionable depth.
2. How Will They Replace Malcolm Brogdon's Production?
A legitimate argument can be made that Brogdon was actually the Bucks' second-best player behind Giannis Antetokounmpo this past season, as he put forth a 50-40-90 campaign and was actually more consistent than Middleton when he was healthy.
Now that Brogdon is gone, Milwaukee will somehow have to replace that production, and its current options don't look all that great.
Matthews looks like the starting shooting guard at the moment, with guys like Brown, Korver, Pat Connaughton and second-year guard Donte DiVincenzo representing the backups.
Unless one of the youngsters (Brown and DiVincenzo) takes a major step forward next year, the Bucks may find themselves lacking at the 2-guard spot relative to what Brogdon gave them this past season.
1. Is Khris Middleton Really a No. 2?
Apparently, the Bucks are not even completely sold on Middleton being a legitimate No. 2 guy, which makes the $170 million contract they gave him look all the more dubious.
Of course, Milwaukee didn't really have a choice in the matter, as it basically had to re-sign Middleton in order to remain in contention and to keep Antetokounmpo happy, but is Middleton really enough as the No. 2 option?
Yes, Middleton made the All-Star team this past year, but let's face it: his numbers weren't spectacular, as he averaged 18.3 points per game while posting a true-shooting percentage of 55.8 percent.
Solid for sure, but hardly what you would expect from a secondary star on a title contender.
The fact that Middleton is the Bucks' No. 2 is the primary reason why I really can't get behind Milwaukee as a legitimate championship ball-club, but the problem is, the Bucks don't really have any way of changing that.
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