The Milwaukee Bucks have had quite the active offseason despite being one of the lesser talented Eastern conference teams and with knowing they likely would lose star Monta Ellis, the team signed O.J. Mayo over the weekend and also tried to bring over Jeff Teague from the Hawks with an offer sheet.
Following those moves, Ellis signed with the Dallas Mavericks as many expected, and now reports have come out that the Hawks have decided to match the offer on Teague, leaving the Bucks to figure out their next move. The team has been working to bring back restricted free agent Brandon Jennings and they are hoping to retain him even more after trading away JJ Redick in a deal with the Clippers.
Mayo was signed to a three-year, $24 million contract and that comes after he played with the Mavericks last season and now the two teams have basically switched stars, as Ellis joined Dallas. Mayo averaged 15.3 points for the Dallas Mavericks last season and he is a pure scorer who should be able to help with the loss of Ellis. The Bucks will look very different next season if they can't keep Jennings and while the Hawks signed back Teague, there is a chance a deal could get done later down the line.
Mayo had hoped for a big deal like Ellis, but instead both players settled for mid-level deals in free agency and now each has the chance to start over in a new city. Mayo will be the focal point of the offense with the Bucks, who also added Luke Ridnour in a trade with the Timberwolves and now have a very formidable offensive attack. Mayo had a solid season while shooting 45 percent with the Mavericks and he also improved his long range shooting.
Ellis signed a deal worth between $25 and $30 million and it comes at a good time, as the Mavericks had issues with their deal with Devin Harris and rookie Shane Larkin got hurt in the summer league. Ellis is a solid scorer and averaged nearly 20 points last season and he opted out of his deal with the Bucks in the hopes of scoring a nice payday. Ellis had an $11 million option to return to the Bucks and he likely wishes he stuck with that or took the extension from them that he was offered, but now he will join the Mavs.
