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Shabazz Muhammad bought-out, to sign with Milwaukee Bucks

By Ben Beecken

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JANUARY 20: Shabazz Muhammad #15 of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives to the basket against OG Anunoby #3 of the Toronto Raptors during the game on January 20, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JANUARY 20: Shabazz Muhammad #15 of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives to the basket against OG Anunoby #3 of the Toronto Raptors during the game on January 20, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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The Timberwolves bought-out forward Shabazz Muhammad prior to Thursday’s playoff-eligibility deadline. The fifth-year player is said to be signing with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Mercifully, the Shabazz Muhammad Era is over for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Muhammad went from polarizing draft pick to solid contributor and under-the-radar, rotation-worthy talent to a sad, lonely figure on a veteran’s minimum contract, exiled from head coach Tom Thibodeau’s rotation.

Bazz will reportedly sign with the Milwaukee Bucks, who, for some reason, are releasing former Timberwolf Sean Kilpatrick in order to create an open roster spot.

Our friends at Hoops Habit explored why Milwaukee might be making this move. Here’s an excerpt:

"The Bucks don’t need have a positional need for Muhammad, and I’d hope they don’t like his game. So, why sign Shabazz Muhammad?I’m not yet willing to dismiss the idea that Muhammad/his agency have some seriously compromising information on someone high up in the Bucks front office or ownership. There’s also the chance that Bucks ownership wanted to burn a pile of money but didn’t have a lighter handy. Perhaps the coaching staff determined that a known malcontent was what the locker room needed to right the ship amid a three-game skid."

Yikes. A bit harsh, I believe, but they aren’t wrong in stating that the Bucks don’t have a ‘need’ for Muhammad. Earlier in the article, Max Carlin cites Muhammad’s on-off numbers and ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus as evidence that Bazz has been bad. He’s right; Muhammad has been awful this season. But it’s also a bit of an outlier compared to past performance, and the idea that he was ever a fit on a Wolves team that suddenly has a host of ball-dominant players was…far-fetched to begin with.

After his rookie season, Shabazz was a useful player for the next three years of his career. Yes, he’s always been awful defensively, and yes, he requires the ball in his hands far too much and doesn’t pass when he does have the ball, but he’s a solid scorer — in very specific situations, that is.

Outside of his favorite spot, the left-box post-up, Muhammad has struggled. His sophomore year performance from beyond the arc (39.2 percent) is now a clear outlier of it’s own; after an injury knocked him out of the lineup after just 38 games, Muhammad has shot just 30.7 percent on 316 3-point attempts since the 2014-15 season.

Muhammad fell out of the rotation back around the holidays, which was the correct call by Tom Thibodeau. He was never going to fit seamlessly next to Jamal Crawford, and the defense and spot-shooting ability simply wasn’t there to warrant him staying with the Wolves.

Next: Jeff Teague got his mojo back

Now, Marcus Georges-Hunt will get some kind of a shot, we can presume. Dunking With Wolves wishes Shabazz well. Here’s hoping he gets plenty of run over the final six weeks of the season and capitalizes on the opportunity.

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