Ranking Milwaukee Bucks Roster: Nos. 21-19—Roster Outsiders

With the NBA offseason officially in the dog days of summer, it’s time to rank the players on the Milwaukee Bucks roster.

The Bucks currently have 21 players on their roster with expectation that Hugo Besson will remain overseas and not report to Milwaukee this season. NBA teams are allowed to carry 20 players in the offseason, but must cut that number down to 15 for the regular season. They also get two additional slots in the form of two-way contracts.

In order to get a better handle on the quality of players on the Bucks’ roster, let’s rank them starting with the worst and working our way toward the best. Today’s edition takes a look at the bottom with three guys who are fighting for their NBA lives.

Hugo Besson

6-foot-1, 196 pounds, guard

Milwaukee used the 58th selection in the 2022 NBA Draft on guard Hugo Besson out of France who played in Australia’s NBL last season (where he projects to remain for the foreseeable future). Fun fact: His height is listed as anywhere from 6-foot-1 (on the Bucks’ official website) to 6-foot-6 (on nba.com’s draft profile).

His best skills come on the offensive end of the court where he’s a microwave scorer who can get hot from downtown. He truly believes in himself and isn’t afraid to fire away from anywhere and everywhere on the court. He does need to improve his consistency in this area, as he has a tendency to go cold from time to time. He also showed some passing prowess and can find open teammates when needed.

He has much bigger issues on defense where he’s a liability a lot of the time. His lack of length and strength hurts him here and led to him being the victim of bullying by opposing offensive players. He did have a knack for the boards, however.

A.J. Green

6-foot-4, 190 pounds, guard

The Bucks signed A.J. Green, a guard out of Northern Iowa, as an undrafted free agent earlier this summer. He had a productive final collegiate year where he displayed his skills as one of the best shooters in the country and averaged 18.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.

It would take a miracle for him to make the Bucks’ final roster, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to go away quietly. In his very first Summer League game, he showed off the shooting skills that attracted the Bucks to him, making three threes in the first half and finishing 5-for-10 from downtown. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to keep that going and finished by making only four of his last 17 outside attempts. If he’s not knocking down the three-ball, there’s little else Green is going to do at an NBA-level, making him one of the most likely players to be cut.

Luca Vildoza

Jersey no. 5; 6-3, 190 pounds, guard

Milwaukee signed Luca Vildoza toward the end of last season, waived him on July 5th and then re-signed him to an Exhibit 10 contract on July 7th. He currently stands as the only player to appear in an NBA postseason game, but not a regular season one.

In mop-up duty last season, he flashed some exciting playmaking in the open court and hit his teammates with nifty passing. Unfortunately, that didn’t translate to the Summer League where he had a horrific performance. In three games and 15.8 minutes per game, he averaged a measly 6 points, 2.33 rebounds, and 1.67 assists to go along with 2 turnovers. Not great, Bob.

Although the Bucks need another point guard to emerge, it doesn’t look like it will be Vildoza. His inability to create shots for his teammates while simultaneously making too many silly turnovers negates his biggest strength.