Ray Allen has had contact with the Milwaukee Bucks this summer.

While, he certainly wouldn’t be the primary scoring option he used to be for the Bucks, there are a number of areas he could contribute.

The first is his perimeter shooting, Allen is one of the best three-point shooters in league history and thrives playing off the ball. With Giannis and Jabari still working towards developing range, having a shooter like Allen could really help open up the floor with his ability to stretch defenses out by creating spacing. Though he may not play much, Allen’s three-point shooting capability off the bench would cause defenses to keep their eye on him.

From an on the court sense, Allen makes some sense for the Bucks, but his true value will lie off the court as a mentor. Milwaukee remains one of the youngest teams in the league. Allen will take a page out of his former teammate Kevin Garnett’s playbook and mentor younger teammates. KG only played in 38 games this past season, not even averaging a full 15 minutes per game. His production was the worst of his career: 3 points and 4 rebounds per game.

However, his return to Minnesota was not to carry the team to the playoffs. It was to mentor young players like Karl Anthony-Towns, last season’s Rookie of the Year. Throughout the season and even the summer, KAT has spoken about Garnett reverently. His mentorship really helped him develop, especially from a mental perspective. Towns was simply a smarter basketball player, compared to other rookies. In fact, there were times, when he made veterans look like rookies and a huge part of that credit goes to the Big Ticket.

Allen could have a similar impact, considering his championship pedigree, while still contributing from a production standpoint. Allen’s impact would more likely be felt in terms of offensive development for the younger players, but if he could have any type of impact on helping MCW learn how to shoot, Allen will justify his contract.

Allen is a low-risk, high-reward move for the Bucks, and if he is truly serious about a comeback the Bucks should pursue him aggressively. His ability to mentor younger players is one of the rarest combinations in the NBA.


Photo courtesy of NESN.

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