2019-20 Three B’s - Frank Mason III

Welcome to the Brew Hoop’s entirely subjective and emotionally-driven 2019-20 Milwaukee Bucks season player evaluations! Similar to last year’s series, we’ll take a look at each current Buck and ask three questions: what do they do that helps (Boon), what do they do that hurts (Bane), and whether they ought to be on this team (Belonging).

Today, we talk about one of Milwaukee’s two-way contract players and also the MVP of the G-League Frank Mason III

Frank’s boon: Low risk, solid reward

While we didn’t see much of Frank Mason outside of the weird all-bench games (see Nuggets before COVID or the Memphis Grizzlies game in the bubble) Mason did show flashes of a player that might be worth bringing in on a minimum salary. The G-League MVP showed with the Wisconsin Herd his offensive acumen with a shooting split of 50.4/42.5/81.5 while scoring 26.4 ppg.

Frank’s bane: Low Ceiling

There is no questioning that Mason was an intriguing prospect, but with a team competing for a title, we were never going to properly gauge what he could bring. In the moments he did play, you can see he wanted to push the tempo. The issue though is Mason doesn’t have an elite skill or abilities that can absolutely garner him a rotational role on a contender. While he could fill the box score in his extended time in the bubble, that was against replacement level players. At only 5’11” he would struggle with his finishing around the rim and fighting through screens on a consistent basis.

Does Frank Belong?

It is a bit tough to fairly and accurately judge Frank Mason. As mentioned when he was playing with the Herd in the G-League, Mason was able to get his shots and was better than his peers, talent-wise. The step up to the NBA is a jump, but Mason was confident and tried being a jumpstart for the offense. It’s unlikely he will take another two-way contract and will hope to get a guaranteed deal with an NBA team.

Mason is pretty low in the pecking order for primary ball handlers behind the likes of Giannis, Khris, Bledsoe, Hill and Donte, so the chances and opportunities seems to be slim. With Milwaukee’s questions at point guard, it might be worth a minimum deal to at least have a point guard that knows the system and could take the workload off of George Hill and whoever ends up being the starter next season. If I had to make a prediction, I feel as though Mason will take a chance with a rebuilding team where playing time is more obtainable.