With Olympic basketball in the rearview mirror, we have a brief lull before the Milwaukee Bucks hit the hardwood again. It’s the perfect time to dissect the Bucks’ offseason moves, position by position.

Using Cleaning the Glass’s positional breakdowns—point guard, combo guard, wing, forward, and big—we’ll evaluate how Milwaukee’s roster is shaping up as we head into August. (Quick note: These categories don’t always align with traditional basketball positions. For instance, Patrick Beverley and A.J. Johnson are slotted as combo guards, so they won’t be part of this segment.)

Let’s kick things off by diving into the point guard position and see how it has transformed since last season’s finale.

Depth Chart at end of 2023-24 Season:

1. Damian Lillard
2. TyTy Washington Jr. (two-way)
3. Ryan Rollins (two-way)

Departures:

TyTy Washington Jr: Washington Jr. signed a two-way contract with the Bucks last August, but his time on the NBA court was limited. In 11 appearances, he logged an average of 5.1 minutes, contributing 1.3 points and 0.5 assists per game. Despite showing some flashes, Milwaukee opted not to bring him back. Instead, Washington Jr. found a new opportunity, inking another two-way deal with the Phoenix Suns on August 2nd.

New Additions:

None: Several players could be considered point guards but will fall under the combo guards for this exercise: AJ Johnson and Delon Wright.

Retained:

Damian Lillard: Lillard is set to shoulder the bulk of the point guard duties this season, but his first year in Milwaukee didn’t go as planned. Amidst a whirlwind of coaching changes, a rash of injuries, and the personal challenges of being away from his family, Lillard struggled to find his rhythm. Despite the setbacks, he’s made it clear that he’s determined to bounce back stronger than ever.

Ryan Rollins: When the Bucks brought Rollins on board with a two-way contract in February 2024, they locked him in for two years. This move ensures he’ll be with the Wisconsin Herd through the end of this season—barring any unexpected cuts, of course.

New Depth Chart:

1. Lillard
2. Rollins (two-way)

Overview:

The Bucks’ roster has an undeniable imbalance. While they boast a surplus of bigger wings and forwards, they’re glaringly thin at the point guard position—something that haunted them last year, particularly in the postseason. The Indiana Pacers exposed this vulnerability by applying relentless full-court pressure throughout their entire first-round series.

Lillard, the lone true point guard, logged 35.3 minutes per game last season—a workload virtually unheard of in the Mike Budenholzer era, but the lowest of Lillard’s career. With the current roster construction, it’s unlikely that number will drop, even though Milwaukee would ideally like to keep him fresh and healthy for the playoffs.

Rather than securing a traditional backup, the Bucks seem poised to replace Lillard by committee when he needs a breather. Expect Wright, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and possibly even Andre Jackson Jr. to handle playmaking duties in his absence. The front office appears confident that this collective approach can effectively supplement Lillard’s ball-handling and playmaking responsibilities.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Tanner Brown struck out ten opposing batters for the second consecutive outing but Milwaukee used a pair of two-run homeruns to top the Canaries 4-0 on Sunday.

The Milkmen smacked roundtrippers in the second and sixth innings and limited the Birds to three hits for the contest. The Canaries (46-35) are now tied with Winnipeg for the top spot in the West Division and will visit the Goldeyes for a three-game series beginning Tuesday at 6:30pm.

Copyright 2024 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.

MILWAUKEE (Cincinnati Enquirer ) – The Cincinnati Reds escaped their personal Hell loop at American Family Field with just their second victory in Milwaukee this season, salvaging a 4-3 victory over the Brewers in the finale of a three-game weekend series on Sunday.

The hot-hitting Tyler Stephenson hit a go-ahead home run in the fifth, and after the Brewers tied it back up in the sixth, he walked during the final go-ahead rally in the Reds seventh.

Closer Alexis Diaz finished off a strong performance by the Reds bullpen with a 1-2-3 ninth for his 23rd save of the season.

Reds Lou Piniella Baseball Hall of Fame’I put the uniform on for one reason only: to compete and kick your ass’: Lou Piniella

Reds Hunter Greene Cy Young AwardWhy Cincinnati Reds’ Hunter Greene knows Cy Young Award ‘definitely a possibility’

The Reds finished their two-city road trip 4-3 despite losing the three-game series to the Brewers. Stephenson was 8-for-25 (.320) with two homers, two doubles and three walks during the trip.

Sunday’s win snapped a four-game losing streak to the Brewers and improved their mark this season against the division leaders to 3-6 with four games left against the Brewers at home, starting Aug. 31. The Reds are still looking for their first series win against the Brewers since 2022.

Reds starter Nick Lodolo pitched into the sixth with the lead Sunday before a one-out walk and double to the left-field gap by William Contreras put the tying run on third.

Right-hander Buck Farmer took over at that point and was greeted by a Willy Adames run-scoring single to left.

Farmer escaped the jam without further damage, and the Reds regained the lead in the top of the seventh.

Santiago Espinal, who singled home the Reds’ first two runs of the game with two outs in the fourth, opened the seventh with a single, took second on broken-bat tapper to the mound and scored two walks later on a sacrifice fly by Spencer Steer.

Lodolo, who missed most of last year with a leg injury and reached his career high in innings for a season on Sunday, has seen his performance wane in recent weeks.

He was lifted after just 79 pitches Sunday. After starting the season 8-2 with a 2.76 ERA in his first 11 starts, he’s 1-2 with a 6.07 ERA in his last eight.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Copyright 2024 WXIX. All rights reserved.