Crucial Bucks Offseason Starts with Draft

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The 2017 NBA Draft board. This year's draft will take place at the Barclays Center in New York.

After a fourth straight season that pitted the Golden State Warriors against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, it’s time to get ready for what could be one of the craziest NBA offseasons in recent history. Some of the league’s biggest stars from LeBron James to Kevin Durant to Kawhi Leonard could be on the move to new teams via free agency or trades in hopes of building the next “Super Team” to try and dethrone the Warriors. Teams like the Lakers, who have plenty of young assets and cap space to work with, are vying for the services of King James but know it will take at least one more guy to make themselves a contender. That’s where a guy like Leonard, who has expressed his desire to leave San Antonio for a city such as Los Angeles, could make a big impact on where LeBron chooses to take his talents this summer.

Other teams like the Houston Rockets and Boston Celtics will look to tweak their already talented rosters after falling in game seven of their respective conference finals. Both teams understand they are right on the cusp of breaking through and winning a title. Adding a guy like LeBron James could be the missing piece that gets them to the promised land.

Then there are teams on the rise such as the Philadelphia 76ers, Utah Jazz, and even the Milwaukee Bucks, that have a plethora of young talent. With the right moves, these teams could make some noise and insert themselves in the mix as we head into next season.

Without getting too ahead of ourselves, the offseason will officially get underway with the NBA draft on Thursday night at the Barclays Center in New York. We all know the big names like DeAndre Ayton, Luka Doncic, Mohamed Bamba, Marvin Bagley and Jaren Jackson. They’ve garnered a lot of the attention, and rightfully so, but there’s still so much that could happen on the trade market as teams decide whether to wager the future in order to win now.

With the 17th pick, the Bucks—who barely held on to their first round pick this year due to losing a coin flip to the Phoenix Suns—will look to add some shooting and athleticism that can play with some tempo alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo. During GM Jon Horst’s media availability this week he explained, “when you get into our range, it feels a lot like guards and wings...there are some guys in our range that we think can help right away.”

After taking a project like D.J. Wilson at number 17 in last year’s draft, the urgency to get a guy that can make an impact right away is ideal but not guaranteed. Horst explained that the further away you get from the top picks, the draft gets more challenging. He hopes to find a “homerun” pick that will play with the Bucks for a long time.

There are a lot of mock drafts out there that have the Bucks taking wings like Jerome Robinson of Boston College, Troy Brown of Oregon, Lonnie Walker of Miami, Zhaire Smith of Texas Tech, Donte DiVincenzo of Villanova and Kevin Huerter of Maryland. There’s also the possibility of going big and grabbing an unknown but intriguing 7’1” center like Mitchell Robinson, who sat out last season after some eligibility issues with Western Kentucky. It’s clear that Milwaukee has a certain direction they want to go in, but judging by last year’s surprise pick of D.J. Wilson and the fact that they kept all of their pre-draft workouts private this year, it’s impossible to predict what Horst and staff will do.

A lot of speculation as of late has included the Bucks trading the pick to either move up into the lottery, move back to add more picks, or move out of the draft entirely to add a veteran piece such as point guard Kemba Walker, who they have inquired about as recently as right before this past season’s trade deadline.

The NBA Draft has truly been hit and miss as of late for the Bucks. The obvious hit is Giannis back in 2013 and even Jabari Parker in 2014, despite injuries and upcoming restricted free agency. The organization has already moved on from Rashad Vaughn, 17th overall pick in 2015, by flipping him for backup center Tyler Zeller at this past season’s deadline. The jury is still out on 2016 first rounder Thon Maker, who has had his ups and downs while showing flashes of his high ceiling.

Perhaps one of the biggest steals of all was 2016 36th overall selection Malcolm Brogdon, who became the first second round pick to win Rookie of the Year. Due to lack of opportunity and playing time, it’s unfair to call 2017 first rounder D.J. Wilson anything more than a reach at this point. We have to get more of a sample size to gauge whether he can make an impact on this roster. Last year’s second rounder Sterling Brown, who has made plenty of headlines this offseason already at the hands of some incompetent police work from the Milwaukee Police Department, made good use of minutes he received during his rookie campaign and will look to make an even bigger jump in year two.

I wish I had a better grasp at what Milwaukee will do heading into tomorrow night but one thing’s for sure: they’ve already hit a homerun to start the offseason by bringing in 2015 Coach of the Year Mike Budenholzer. Budenholzer has an excellent track record, starting as an assistant under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio followed by a 213-197 record as the lead man in Atlanta which included three straight winning seasons. With the Hawks rebuilding, Budenholzer and the team mutually agreed to part ways and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Bucks as his championship experience and leadership fit in perfectly with what Milwaukee needs to get to the next level. His ability to build strong defensive teams in Atlanta should carry over to a Bucks team that has plenty of length and athleticism to work with.

With a new coaching staff, guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton to build around, and the impending restricted free agency of Jabari Parker, this has become a crucial offseason for the franchise. Not to put too much pressure on the draft tomorrow night, but they need to be smart on how they go about things after dealing a future first round pick to the Suns as part of the Eric Bledsoe trade. They were lucky enough to hold onto their pick this year, but the protections get worse until it ultimately becomes unprotected in 2021. They also relinquished their second round pick this year as part of the trade but can always find a way to get back in if the situation calls for it.

After taking the Celtics to a grueling seven games in the first round of the playoffs this year, Milwaukee is in win-now mode and hungry to make the leap to the next level. With that in mind, it would be risky to stay put and have the pressure of a rookie at number 17 be a difference maker for a team looking to make a deep playoff run. On the other hand, packaging the pick to get a guy like Kemba Walker or by some miracle landing a game changing player like Kawhi Leonard, is something that seems to make more sense for their situation. However things play out tomorrow night, the only thing that matters is coming out a better team than they were entering the draft. If that is the consensus, then that will be a good start to what should be a promising summer for the franchise.