Grading the Milwaukee Bucks’ under the radar signing of Rayjon Tucker
In what should be the final transaction of the season, the Milwaukee Bucks signed Wisconsin Herd guard Rayjon Tucker to a three-year contract to fill their final roster spot that was opened when they waived DeAndre’ Bembry.
Tucker is a familiar name within the organization as he’s played over 50 games for the Bucks’ G League affiliate and is their all-time leading scorer. This is the fifth NBA team that he’s played with after stints with the Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Denver Nuggets before that.
Tucker is also the second Herd alum to be signed by the Bucks to an NBA contract this season after Lindell Wigginton was signed to a two-way deal earlier this season.
Although Tucker may not play much at all when it matters, there’s still a lot to unpack with bringing him into the fold.
The financial aspect of Rayjon Tucker’s deal with the Milwaukee Bucks
It may jump off the page initially when you see that the Bucks signed Tucker to a three-year contract, but when you dive into the specifics of the deal, it’s not as eye-popping as it seems.
He is only being paid around $28 thousand for the rest of this season and then has two non-guaranteed years after that. Each of those non-guaranteed years is under $2 million with the highest being in 2023-24 when he could receive just over $1.9 million, according to Spotrac.
The contract given to Tucker is pretty standard for a player coming from the G League and the two non-guaranteed years are a nice show of good faith for a guy that has been a fantastic leader and culture-setter for the Herd when he’s been here.
This is very similar to the idea behind signing Luca Vildoza in that you give him a chance to compete for a roster spot next season but can let him go if it doesn’t work out. It also allows them to keep Tucker in the organization for his aforementioned leadership.
I’d like to see Tucker get a real chance at sticking with the team next season. He’ll likely be on the Summer League roster with Vildoza, Wigginton, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and whoever the Bucks add in the draft, and having a guy like Tucker who knows what the organization wants from their players is a big bonus.
All in all, there’s not much risk at all for the Bucks.