The Price is Right for Milwaukee Bucks and Delon Wright
The Milwaukee Bucks addressed some of their biggest needs as they reportedly added Delon Wright in the first full day of free agency.
The Milwaukee Bucks kicked off their free agency in modest fashion Monday morning.
As first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Bucks agreed to a one-year, $3.3 million deal with journeyman guard Delon Wright. Wright will count towards the cap as a veteran minimum contract as the Bucks have limited spending power to address their roster this offseason.
Wright comes to Milwaukee after splitting his time between the Washington Wizards and the Miami Heat last season. In 47 games, Wright averaged 4.5 points on .394/.368/.822 shooting splits, 1.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals across 15.8 minutes.
It’s fair to feel whelmed or even underwhelmed by Wright’s output from last season, but it should be noted he missed significant time due to a hamstring injury last year. But when healthy, Wright addresses all of the significant weaknesses that plagued the Bucks after shaking up their roster with the grand acquisition of Damian Lillard prior to the season.
Wright brings a lot of what Patrick Beverley brought to the table for the Bucks after coming to Milwaukee at the trade deadline. Only Wright sizes up bigger as a combo guard, who is equally equipped of leading the bench unit at the point or slotting up at the 2 to take on the dirty work next to someone like Lillard.
It’s Wright’s ability to check the best perimeter scorers on opposing teams that makes him very appealing to the Bucks, especially next to Lillard. The combination of Wright’s ranginess — thanks to his 6’7’’ wingspan — and his mobility helps him guard well in space, around screens and when rotating towards the ball.
In every year but his rookie season, Wright has averaged over a steal per game or better. The great David Aldridge of The Athletic referred to Wright as the ‘King of Deflections’ and after having watched him while Wright was with the Wizards, that nickname certainly checks out based on stats. In 50 appearances during the 2022-23 season, Wright averaged 3.2 deflections per game with the Wizards, per NBA.com/stats.
Wright’s ability to get his hands into passing lanes and dig in defensively immediately shores up the Bucks’ biggest weakness last year. While they desire to add more versatility to their defensive coverages, having a strong point-of-attack defender that stays attached to his man just makes life easier for someone like Brook Lopez dropping back and protecting the basket.
His defensive chops aren’t the only weapon to be intrigued by when evaluating Wright’s skill set. He’s an excellent ball mover and initiator. Not only is Wright selfless in putting flow into the offense, his decision-making is incredibly sound. Even for a low-usage player, Wright’s 6.3 turnover percentage was one of the best marks of any player last season, per Basketball-Reference.
Of course, the biggest swing skill in Wright’s package is his 3-point shot. He’s certainly not the flamethrower Malik Beasley is by any means, but Wright can knock it down from deep at an acceptable hit rate. He’s coming off a season where he hit 36.8 percent from three and went 21-for-51 on catch-and-shoot opportunities (41.8 percent).
On the surface level, Wright might not immediately slot in as the starting 2-guard role that sits vacant with Beasley likely on the move. However, he does all of the little things that the Bucks need around their stars that very well could play an important role in closing lineups when the season eventually rolls around.
The Bucks’ lack of spending power plays a factor here, but the reported addition of Wright keeps the door open for the Bucks’ many young wings (Andre Jackson Jr., AJ Green, MarJon Beacuchamp) to assume a bigger role next season. Of course, they have to win the approval of head coach Doc Rivers to do so and the likes of Jackson and Green appears to be closer to taking that next step.
Milwaukee still has two open roster spots to fill and only veteran minimum contracts to hand out. They won’t lack in trying to shoot for the stars to lure players their way, but targeting glue guys like Wright certainly helps them more than what people think is out there at this point in free agency.