Despite All Their Success, Milwaukee Bucks Need To Nail 24th Overall Draft Pick

The Milwaukee Bucks have the 24th selection in this week’s NBA Draft, and the pick is an important one, which isn’t usually the case for championship-level teams drafting in the mid-20s.

For the Bucks, however, finding a reliable cost-controlled asset is of high priority after the team’s lack of offensive depth failed to advance them in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Need for shot-creation

Most will point to Milwaukee’s postseason loss to the Boston Celtics as being the result of Khris Middleton being out for the series. That isn’t wrong. Yet, the Bucks didn’t just take a step down in their offensive execution with their second star out – they fell completely through the floor and hit the basement pavement face-first.

Grayson Allen could barely make a basket or a play for himself. Jrue Holiday, while always an asset defensively, got to the rim at will but failed to convert when there. Bobby Portis and Brook Lopez failed to deliver a necessary scoring punch, and George Hill looked his age.

In the end, Giannis Antetokounmpo had to take on too much, too often, and even so led the team to an improbable Game 7, underlining his rightful place in history as one of the most dominant forces the NBA has ever seen.

Next year, things need to look a bit different, so the Bucks have a counter should injury misfortune once more hit them at a crucial stage. This isn’t to say any rookie that comes in should be ready to knock down crucial shots in the dying moments of a playoff game, but he should be able to at least absorb minutes from players who can’t get anything going.

In short, the Bucks could use a guard. Whether it’s a pure point guard, an off-ball player or a combo isn’t really that essential, as long as they get someone who can hang onto his dribble and consistently get from Point A to Point B.

Fortunately for Milwaukee, there should be quite a few players fitting of that description in their draft range.

The candidates

Two players of immediate interest, pending they slip from their projected draft slots in the middle of the first round, are TyTy Washington out of Kentucky and Ochai Agbaji out of Kansas.

This is where you, dear reader, might point out that Agbaji is far more of an off-ball scoring option than a shot-creator. This is true, yet the talent level of Agbaji is so vast, especially if available at #24, you have to consider it if you’re Milwaukee. Not only is he 22 and mature, his game should make an immediate translation to the NBA, which for a championship contender is no small thing. Agbaji netted 18.8 points and drained 40.7% from downtown, establishing a slashing game this season that puts him on the path to becoming a wholesome scorer. Under the tutelage of Middleton, Agbaji could find himself getting rotational minutes sooner than later.

As for Washington, he’s also slated to be off the board by the time Milwaukee picks, but not necessarily as far back as not being a possible target anyway. It’s the draft. Weird stuff happens every year. By all accounts, he’s in play as a possibility until further notice.

Washington is a guard, who projects to be in the same mold as Immanuel Quickley, who coincidentally also played at Kentucky two years ago. What that means is Washington can pick and choose his own role, which can also change by the game. He can facilitate (3.9 assists), he can get his own shot (12.5 points), he can play off-ball (35% from range), and he’s got the size (6’4 with a 6’8 wingspan) to effortlessly swing between positions. Such a feature would be greatly welcomed in Milwaukee, particularly to replace Hill moving forward.

Assuming both Agbaji and Washington are not available, the Bucks could give Dalen Terry and Jaden Hardy looks.

Terry is arguably the best utility player out of any guard in the draft, even if he isn’t among the favorites. You can ask him to run your offense, you can ask him to stretch the floor as a shooter, and you can ask him to slide between both guard spots and even up to the power forward position. Yes, you read that right.

Terry is huge at near 6’8 with a near 7’1 wingspan, who plays a very secure brand of basketball. He doesn’t turn the ball over, he plays within himself, and there is considerable defensive upside due to his physique. While he might not go out and get the Bucks 20 points anytime soon, he would give them a huge guard with several key tools, including a three-point shot, which would make for a fairly big upgrade off the bench.

Hardy, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. He is a guy who looks to just get buckets. While he hit just 35% of his shots with the G-League Ignite, there’s a high-upside swing to be found by drafting him, but the Bucks will have to understand beforehand there’s also considerable risk to be found with this selection. Sure, he might give you the occasional 20-point game here and there, but how will he fair in a role where he can’t just jack up every type of shot he wants? Another essential question to ask is whether or not his efficiency will improve.

Sometimes, all a talented player needs to discover a more effective game is to be around older veterans who have sacrificed before in their careers. Hardy could benefit greatly from being around Middleton, Antetokounmpo, and Holiday all season long. Will he be able to contribute immediately? That remains to be seen.

For the Bucks specifically, Terry seems like a player that would do them well. He played alongside Bennedict Mathurin at Arizona, so he’s used to having more talented scorers around him. Yet, at the same time, he’s got more in his own bag than what he showed (8.0 points per game), and the Bucks team where a guard role off the bench should be available.

What the Bucks can’t afford here is to select a player who will see 20 games played over the next two years, only to be traded out of the blue. They need a contributor, even if they have to wait a year for the player to develop.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.