The Milwaukee Bucks are still sorting through roster changes, and Bennedict Mathurin has surfaced as a sign-and-trade possibility, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. On paper, Mathurin makes sense as a productive young player. In practice, though, he looks a lot like the kind of move Milwaukee can’t afford to make again.
The Bucks already lived through the downside of leaning too hard on small lineups last season, and the numbers back that up. Cleaning the Glass shows that among five-man groups with at least 250 possessions, Milwaukee had the two worst lineups in the entire NBA in offensive rebounding percentage. Both units shared the same problem: three guards on the floor.
That kind of setup got Milwaukee buried on the glass. The worst lineup was Rollins, Green, Trent, Kuzma, and Turner.
The next-worst group was only a little better and featured Porter at the two with Green sliding to the three. When you’re asking three guards who are 6-foot-5 and under to battle for rebounds, the margin for error gets thin fast.
And with a 6-foot-8 forward plus a center who has never been much of an offensive rebounder, the Bucks were already giving up ground before the ball even came off the rim.
That weakness cost them possessions and left second-chance points sitting there. Outside of overall health, it was one of the biggest issues the team had last season.
A Mathurin deal would risk repeating it. If Milwaukee goes down that road, the projected starting group would likely include Rollins, Herro, Mathurin, Kuzma, and Turner. That lineup might bring some useful scoring, but it would still be vulnerable on the boards in a big way.
Milwaukee also shouldn’t get too comfortable with the idea that Mathurin has spent 59 percent of his career minutes at small forward, per Basketball Reference. Even if that’s true, he’s still 6-foot-5.
In today’s game, that’s not the profile of a starting three. If the Bucks were shopping for guard help, the fit would be easier to defend.
But that’s not where the roster needs are.
Right now, the smarter path points toward Peyton Watson and Jonathan Kuminga, two forwards the Bucks have been linked to in the rumor mill. Both would add size and help keep Milwaukee from sliding back into the same offensive rebounding mess.
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