Miami Heat power forward P.J. Tucker gave his honest take about leaving the Milwaukee Bucks in the last offseason, the team wherein he became an integral part of its recent championship run.
In an interview with Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang, Tucker said that he was ‘surprised’ on not being able to come back to Milwaukee, further stressing out the rarity of a vital role player not returning to a winning team.
“I was pretty surprised. You win a championship and you’re part of winning something special like that, you would expect that. A chance of it not happening? There’s a chance. It didn’t happen. Does it happen a lot? I don’t think so, not in that situation, not in those situations. You watch role guys in series in the past, usually those guys go back. So I’ll take my situation as just that, a particular situation. I move on from it and keep it going.”
And asked about his departure post for the city of Milwaukee via Instagram, the 36-year-old pesty defender said that it was mainly designated to the fans who constantly blamed him for departing with the team.
“I just felt like it for the fans, because everybody blamed me. All the fans blamed me right away, not knowing the situation, what happened. So that was definitely a raw emotion, right in that moment. But it is what it is. It’s business. They made a decision, I made a decision, and we move on. It is what it is.”
Tucker shocked the Milwaukee community after deciding to have a two-year $14.4 million deal with the Miami Heat. The North Carolina-born hooper was a fan favorite amongst the deer fans, supplying dog mentality and tenacity within the Bucks roster.
Tucker, who averaged 4.3 points, 5.8 rebounds in his 23 games with the Bucks in the 2021 playoffs, was praised for his vocal leadership, hard-nosed approach, and defensive versatility that time, notably sticking against superstar Kevin Durant in the second round seven-game war that is for the ages.
Tucker and the Heat will face the Bucks on Thursday.
