Losing shooting guard Khris Middleton for what could be the entire 2016-17 regular season due to a torn left hamstring will force head coach Jason Kidd to get creative with his rotation to compensate for the 25-year-old's injury.
To help test the waters, Kidd told reporters during the Milwaukee Bucks' Media Day on Monday that both Greg Monroe and Michael Carter-Williams will be leading the second unit at the start of training camp. As a result, both Rashad Vaughn and Miles Plumlee will be working with the starters.
Should this strategy make it to the regular season, it could signal "The Greek Freak" Giannis Antetokounmpo running the point for Milwaukee, which Kidd teased as a possibility near the end of last season. If not, Aussie Matthew Dellavedova (who was signed to a four-year, $38.4-million contract in the offseason) could also be an option.
Monroe was rather underwhelming in his first season after inking a three-year, $50-million contract last summer. His flawed defense carried over from his days with the Detroit Pistons, with Milwaukee allowing 4.3 more points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor. Combine that with a sixth-straight season of failing to average at least one rejection per game, and you have an inaugural campaign that exposed what Monroe was incapable of doing defensively, instead of what he could offer offensively.
The same logic applies for Carter-Williams, who was sidelined for 28 games due to a torn labrum in his left hip. The former Rookie of the Year upped his shooting percentages to a career-best 45.2 percent from the field and 27.2 percent from 3-point range, but with a real plus-minus of -1.36 (40th among point guards), it's clear someone else should be running the offense.
With the team floundering around the All-Star break at 11 games under .500, reports began to circulate that Milwaukee was willing to move anyone not named Jabari Parker or Middleton to improve its roster, with Monroe and Carter-Williams rumored to be on the chopping block.
