Ranking The Milwaukee Bucks’ Roster: Nos. 7-9, Role Players

The Milwaukee Bucks have the luxury of a roster full of (mostly) proven veterans who can get the job done in the regular season and postseason alike.

Some questions still exist, particularly among this trio of players who will play significant roles all year.

Jevon Carter, Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton are next on our ranking of Bucks and they enter the 2022-23 season with a wide variety of playoff experience under their belt. Let’s check out how they project for the season ahead.

9: Jevon Carter

Jersey no. 5; 6-1, 200 pounds, guard

Jevon Carter was an emerging player after the Bucks signed him late in the season. His bulldog mentality hounded opposing point guards 94 feet from the basket and set the defensive tone Mike Budenholzer wanted at the point of attack. He was also making enough shots from behind the arc—55.8 percent(!)— to ensure he was helpful on offense. Then George Hill returned and Budenholzer forgot about Carter, burying him on the bench.

That move drew the intense ire of fans across social media and even inspired some to bring out the “Fire Bud” hashtags one year after he helped lead his team to an NBA Finals victory.

Spending an entire offseason with the Bucks will help Carter better endear himself to Budenholzer and get in his good graces. That and an aging, injured Hill coming off one of his worst professional seasons. If Carter can keep his three-point percentage in the 38-39 percent range, he’ll be helpful enough on offense to keep his man from spending all his time in the lane on help defense. And you know his defense isn’t going anywhere.

8: Grayson Allen

Jersey no. 7; 6-4, 198 pounds, guard

Grayson Allen was acquired last summer as an insurance policy to a seemingly always ailing Donte DiVincenzo. And what a move it turned out to be!

Allen wasn’t spectacular by any means, but did have a career-year scoring the rock and was a very good fit in the Bucks’ starting lineup. He finished the 2021-22 season by scoring 11.1 points per game, with a 58.8 percent effective field goal percentage and 40.9 percent from downtown (all career-highs). He was the fifth option in the starting unit, allowing him to orbit the perimeter and knock down shots when his opponent helped too much. Milwaukee needed his ability to play off the ball considering how much time Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo spent with it in their hands.

Allen’s playoff run was more volatile, but that is due to his increased role when Middleton went down with an injury in the first round. He doesn’t need to do nearly as much on offense when everyone is healthy. Hopefully, that’s the case this season which should see him thrive as the fifth starter once again.

7: Pat Connaughton

Jersey no. 24; 6-5, 209 pounds, wing

The turn Pat Connaughton has made since his arrival in Milwaukee from a heel to a fan favorite is nothing short of spectacular. And it’s all due to his hard work on the basketball court.

Through the years, he’s developed into a multi-positional defender who can leverage his athleticism and size to defend up or down a position. Don’t get me wrong; he’s not an elite defender who can match up with three different positions. He can, however, switch on the fly and hold his own when guarding quicker or stronger players.

His offense has also evolved as time has passed. His identity used to be one of a run and dunk man; someone who would use their supreme athleticism to sky above the rim and throw one down. However, he’s turned himself into an above-average three-point shooter and has increased his accuracy every year in Milwaukee. He topped off at 39.5 percent last season (even adding a high-catch, high-release shot in his repertoire), and there’s no reason to think he can’t repeat that success. At this point in his career, Connaughton is a proven 82-game and 16-game player, locking in his role on the Bucks.