Bucks sign Dellavedova, Teletovic, both for $10 million a year
Team creeps toward being capped out
NBA free agency opened Friday and the Milwaukee Bucks look to be close to capped out.
Milwaukee reportedly came to verbal agreements – players can’t sign until July 7 – with Mirza Teletovic and Matthew Dellavedova. Both would sign for about $10 million a year – Teletovic for three years, Dellavedova for four.
So much for progress and playing for the #OwnTheFuture catchphrase the Bucks throw out with every social media post. What kind of future can it possibly be with $20 million in cap locked up for three seasons on two guys who have little to no potential?
The Bucks could learn a thing or two from the Packers in this regard. They should have waited to see who was left, because there are always players left and neither Teletovic or Dellavedova make much of an impact.
In fact, Dellavedova may set the needle back.
If this were baseball, fine, there’s no cap, sign everybody, but it doesn’t work in the NBA.
You could make the argument that the Bucks can’t pull in the big free agent because they’re in Milwaukee, but now, they don’t even have the cap space to do it. The Bucks core is there – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jabari Parker – and about to break out.
When they do, a big-time free agent will be more apt to sign in Milwaukee or, at least, someone with potential. Teletovic fits right in, but he’s 30. Dellavedova is a hustle, scrappy player who has no potential.
Regarding Mirza Teletovic & Jon Leuer – seems likely only one of them will return to the Suns in free agency. pic.twitter.com/kK92tpOtNF
— Suns Nation (@SunsNation_NBA) June 25, 2016
Milwaukee was hovering around $69 million in salaries heading into free agency with the cap going up to $94 million.
With those two deals, there isn’t much money left, so disregard the rumors about Dwayne Wade. He’s only using the Bucks, and whomever else has cap space that would look like a viable destination – Wade is from Chicago and played at Marquette – to leverage the Miami Heat to pay up.
What the Bucks have gotten so far is a 6-foot-9, 30-year-old 3-point marksman in Teletovic, who averaged 16.5 points – 38 percent from beyond the arc – 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 turnovers in 27 minutes after the all-star break last year for a poor Phoenix Suns team.
He fills a need to help spread the floor with shooting, so this actually a pretty decent deal. He’s been on bad teams in the past. The Bucks should be better and, hopefully, play to his strengths.
Dellavedova, on the other hand, who came into the spotlight in the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavs first run at the NBA Finals against the Warriors, with his “physical” defense that kept taking out players.
In last season’s playoffs, he barely saw the floor despite the Cavs waltzing their way to the NBA Finals.
He averaged 12 minutes in the playoffs. Shot 26 percent from beyond the arc.
During the season, his 3-point shooting was good – 37 percent. He averaged 22 minutes after the all-star break at 6.4 points, 3.8 assists.
Those numbers don’t look bad, but he also had James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love as teammates. Things will be different on the Bucks.
