The Mark Sears chapter in Milwaukee is over before it ever really got rolling.
What once looked like a promising two-way gamble for the Bucks has ended with the guard’s G League rights being moved in a five-team deal. The Wisconsin Herd sent Sears to the Rip City Remix, Portland’s affiliate, and came back with Cameron Parker and a first-round pick in the G League draft. Sears, who spent his rookie season between the Herd and the Bucks, is now on his way across the country.
Milwaukee had reasons to be intrigued when it moved quickly to sign Sears after he went undrafted. He came in with a college résumé and enough buzz to suggest he could become a useful backcourt piece for a team that has not had much dependable point guard depth in recent years. For a Bucks organization that has had success with two-way contracts, the idea made sense.
But the on-court story never matched the hope around it.
Sears appeared in seven games for Milwaukee before being waived. The Herd kept him in Wisconsin after that, and he did make the most of the extended run in Oshkosh.
Even so, the front office was clearly willing to part with him once the trade package included a first-round pick. That’s a pretty loud signal about where things stood.
There’s still a chance another team finds something in him. The Remix now get that crack, and Sears will try to reset his path there.
For Milwaukee, the timing also points to a changing Herd rotation. The Bucks’ backcourt is crowded already, and two-way guard Kam Jones looks like the player most likely to soak up a heavy share of the Herd minutes next season. If he’s going to work his way back to the NBA full-time, the runway is opening in front of him.
That runway opened even more after a couple of departures. Stephen Thompson, the Herd’s all-time leading scorer and leader in games played, has left to join the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Now Sears is gone too. Two important pieces from last season’s Herd blueprint have moved on, and somebody will need to fill those roles from day one.
If Kam Jones can be that guy, it would soften the blow of Sears never breaking through in Milwaukee.
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