A persuasive speaker does not need to be loud or verbose to be effective.

Just ask Greg Monroe, one of the newest members of the Milwaukee Bucks.

While the Bucks were pursuing Monroe, one of the most sought-after unrestricted NBA free agents on the market during the summer of 2015, they enlisted one of the most soft-spoken individuals in their organization to assist in the process.

And it worked.

Khris Middleton, who spent the past two seasons with Milwaukee, not only re-signed with the Bucks earlier this month as a restricted free agent, but displayed some recruiting prowess to help bolster his team in a big way.

Middleton broke into the NBA in 2012 with Detroit and developed a friendship with Monroe, who spent his first five pro seasons with the Pistons.

As Bucks management made landing Monroe a priority, Middleton got on the horn and helped out.

“I told Khris – he assisted a whole lot in recruiting me here – that I’m looking forward to playing with him again,” Monroe said. “He’s a great guy. From everything I’ve heard, all of the guys on the team are great, so I’m looking forward to working with everyone here.”

It is highly unlikely that Middleton will ever be considered loquacious, but Monroe said he kept after him during the free agent crunch.

“Yes, he really did,” Monroe said. “That was serious. He was ringing me up.”

Middleton was a man on a mission.

“I was buzzing him quite a bit – I want to say every couple of hours,” Middleton said. “When I was in Detroit, he was someone who competed every night as hard as he could and wanted to win. He wasn’t happy with losing. That’s the main thing I remember about him.”

Middleton was asked what Monroe could bring to the Bucks.

“He could bring a lot,” Middleton replied. “He’s very talented, skilled, he can score in the block, he can step away, make moves, make plays for everybody. I think he’s going to fit in great with us.

“I talked to him on the phone after he made the decision, just laughing and joking with him about how we’re back together playing again.”

Monroe and Middleton were reunited at a July 9 press conference announcing their signings with Milwaukee.

Bucks General Manager John Hammond made it clear that re-signing Middleton was the other personnel-related priority of the organization’s busy offseason, which followed one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in league history.

“One of the guys that stepped up and played extremely well for us is sitting right over here,” Hammond said, looking to his left. “That’s Khris Middleton. If you saw us play, you saw what he did, and the ability he had to hit big shots for us – game-winning shots.

“But more than that, Khris is a pro. He came to work every day and was a no-maintenance guy. He was one of the real keys to us having the year that we had this past year. So to be able to bring back Khris to our team, our organization, I think is very important for us.

“We felt like it was something we had to do. We talk about trying to maintain the continuity of a young player in this organization, and he was one of the key players in doing that.”

Middleton, 23, put together a career-best season with Milwaukee in 2014-15. He achieved career highs in points per game (13.4), rebounds per game (4.4) and assists per game (2.3), tied for ninth in the NBA in steals-per-turnover ratio, and his 3-point percentage of 40.7 tied for 10th in the league.

The 6-foot-7-inch guard/forward became the first NBA player to sink multiple game-winning 3-pointers in the same season (at Phoenix on Dec. 15 and vs. Miami on March 24) since Kobe Bryant in 2009-10.

He reached his NBA career high of 30 points twice during the campaign before seeing his first playoff action and leading the Bucks in scoring in the postseason at 15.8 points in six contests.

Middleton embraced the opportunity to stay in Milwaukee.

“I just want to say I’m glad to be back,” he said. “I’m glad to be a part of this organization for five more years and continue to take a step in the right direction and become a championship-caliber team.

“Since I’ve been here, everything has been great. They treat us first-class and try to make sure we’re taken care of. The coaches are all about getting better and winning each day. As a player, that’s all you can ask for.”

Hammond spoke about the vital roles the Bucks expect Monroe and Middleton to play in the team’s quest.

“We’re trying to have some continuity within our roster,” Hammond said. “That continuity is – we hate to mention names, but we’re going to mention some names – and talk about the continuity, beginning with Jabari (Parker), Giannis (Antetokounmpo), MCW (Michael Carter-Williams), Khris, John Henson and now Greg being a part of that group.

“That’s the young core we’re hoping with, over the next two to three to four years, that that group can eventually become that team that we want them to be, and that’s that championship team. Khris was a part of that, so we wanted to make sure we brought him back.

“To bring Khris back was the first step, and then to add Greg to our team, I think this is it. This is the next step for us and where we want to be. We couldn’t be any more excited than to have Khris Middleton and Greg Monroe as part of our organization moving forward.”