Milwaukee’s two-way guard hopes to break a tradition
Another day, another two-way player in our Ranking The Roster series. It’s not too surprising, considering two-way players are factors for rotation minutes for teams that have high aspirations. The Bucks have a poor history of two-way players besides AJ Green, which could be tied to the lack of rotation minute opportunities but also simply not being that talented. They do let their two-way players get valuable playing time with the Wisconsin Herd giving them a chance to showcase their skills. Today, we have the last of the Bucks’ two-way players, guard Ryan Rollins.
Rollins was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. Rollins played two years at the University of Toledo, winning the MAC (Mid-Atlantic Conference) Freshman of the Year in the 2020–21 season. Ryan played 12 games for the Warriors and 12 games for the Warriors G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, during his rookie season before a season-ending foot injury in February of 2023. For Santa Cruz, Rollins averaged 28.5 MPG scoring 20.3 PPG, 4.1 APG, 4.2 RPG, and shooting splits of 48%/36%/71%.
After his rookie season, Rollins was a part of the Jordan Poole trade that sent him to the Washington Wizards. There he only played 10 games for the Wizards and five games for G League affiliate Capital City Go-Go. That season saw a dip in all statistical categories besides his free-throw percentage which jumped up to 91%. The Wizards waived Rollins in January 2024; shortly after that, he found himself in some legal trouble and was charged with seven counts of petit larceny after being caught shoplifting at a local Target. A month later, Milwaukee signed Rollins as their two-way player and he made three appearances for the Bucks.
Now as my friend Riley Feldmann highlighted in a recent ranking the roster post, being waived by the Washington Wizards is not the ringing endorsement an NBA player would want. Unlike Anžejs Pasečņiks, Rollins does have some NBA skills. In his draft scouting profile, Jonathan Wasserman provided this insight on Rollins.
That isn’t too bad of a comparison and the Bucks saw in Summer League some of his scoring and shot creation. Despite the team not performing well, Rollins was a shining light in Vegas. He averaged 12.8 PPG, 2.6 APG, and 3 RPG on 18.7 MPG in the five Summer League games. His shooting splits were 48%/33%/77% and he attempted 4.2 threes per contest.
You saw much of why NBA scouts were intrigued by Rollins in his draft year. The team probably looked at its best when he was the primary on-ball creator. There was a real savvy to him, never allowing the opponent to speed him up. His in-between game—pull-up jumpers, floaters—was more polished than we had seen with the Herd. But the real question is: does Rollins figure into the Bucks rotation this season? We can likely answer that question by asking another one: does the team need what he provides? And unfortunately for Ryan, the answer is probably no, barring an injury crisis.
Rollins profiles as a tertiary scorer who can create off the bounce but isn’t a great catch-and-shoot guy or defender. Well, the Bucks already have that in Lillard, Middleton, Trent, and Wright. I could hear a case that Ryan might have a better shot at playing time if the team still had Jrue Holiday and Jevon Carter. But Rollins’ game doesn’t really complement the current roster all that well.
And this goes to a scouting point as well: you often see score-first guards fall in the draft because teams are like, “we already have scoring at home.” For example, Jaden Hardy—ranked second in the 2021 ESPN Top 100—fell into the second round one year later because of this. All the while his G League Ignite teammate Dyson Daniels—a much lesser-known prospect out of Australia—rocketed up draft boards because he profiled as an additive role player. Now, it should be noted that sometimes the scoring ability is so elite that it outweighs any downside. Hence, Milwaukee’s starting point guard.
Having said all of that, there is real talent here, and I think the front office knows that seeing as they retained Rollins in the offseason. And if he can turn in a great season with the Herd and keep working on those complementary skills that’ll get him minutes in the NBA, there’s a chance he could work his way into things as a third or fourth guard in the next few years. Maybe some scorers move on and suddenly Milwaukee needs exactly what he brings.
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