The Milwaukee Bucks finished this year’s Summer League with a record of 1-4. 

However, despite this below average record, their Summer League roster was filled with pleasant surprises. The most notable effort was guard Rashad Vaughn who averaged 16.0 points per game.

Vaughn was selected with the 17th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. In college, Vaughn averaged 17.8 points per game at UNLV and shot over 38% from three point range. Coming into the NBA, Vaughn was known for his scoring prowess and was expected to be a solid scorer in the NBA which explains why he was drafted in the first round. However, Vaughn has struggled so far in his NBA career and has only averaged 3.2 points per game in about 13 minutes per game. Vaughn has seriously struggled with his shooting and has shot around 30% from three point range in his first two NBA seasons. However, in this Summer League, Vaughn excelled and looked ready to accept a bigger role with the team in the 2017-2018 season.

Vaughn’s success helps explain some of the moves, or lack thereof, by the Bucks organization thus far this offseason. Going into the offseason, the Bucks looked to keep the core of its bench by re-signing Jason Terry and potentially retaining Michael Beasley. However, both free agents have not been re-signed by the Bucks organization so far which might have confused some fans. However, Vaughn’s success makes both of these players replaceable. If Vaughn maintains this high level of play, he can compete for the backup point guard position and provide a ton of scoring off the bench. By providing Vaughn with more minutes, the organization can save money and use it on future free agent signings instead of signing a 39 year old point guard to a multiyear deal.

Although Vaughn will most likely come off the bench this season due to the team’s re-signing of Tony Snell, look for him to contribute heavily and to provide some valuable minutes off the bench when the season starts in October.