Every Bucks fan knew entering the 2013-14 NBA season that the biggest story surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks was off the court, even though the Bucks went Extreme Makeover: Entire Team Edition on themselves while blowing up their roster.
OJ Mayo, Brandon Knight and Larry Drew were just a few of the wholesale changes made by General Manager John Hammond over the course of the 2013 NBA off-season. Gone were the goons (Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis) that made up the Bucks’ backcourt, who took the Bucks to the Holy Grail that was the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference! Gone was Jim Boylan, the coach that was thrown under the bus publically by J.J. Reddick for not being able to communicate like an adult for weeks at a time. It seemed like after a not so great run to playoff mediocrity, the Bucks had the pieces to put together a respectable team.
Larry Sanders was coming off of a season almost worthy of the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, but missed the majority of the season for a variety of reasons. OJ Mayo proved that he would live up to his silly name, as he became fat. He played only 52 games and only started 23 of those games. Larry Drew became famous for his ridiculous line-ups last season. He often started Khris Middleton at power forward over the much more talented, taller and proven Ersan Illyasova. Middleton started 64 games and played in all 82 games, while Ersan started 47 games (played in just 55). The only key addition that proved to be a positive one by Hammond (minus the Greek Freak) was Brandon Knight. Knight averaged a career best 17.4 points per game and his shooting percentage improved by 15 percent over his last season. The Bucks finished a dismal 15-67 on the season, the worst record ever in their history, and the worst record in the NBA.
Now here comes what this article is supposed to be about *end rant about crappy season*.
After this season, the Bucks had a 25 percent chance of winning the NBA’s Draft Lottery. Instead, the Cleveland Cavaliers made NBA history, winning the number one overall pick in the NBA Draft three out of the past four years. The Bucks grabbed the number two pick, which if this had happened any other year, I might be complaining. However, the 2014 NBA Draft is arguably the deepest draft class since the draft class of 2003.
You remember that draft, don’t you? LeBron, Darko, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, Kirk Hinrich and TJ Ford all drafted in the top 10. Nine of those 10 players made significant contributions to their teams within two years of being drafted, while Darko Miličić taught NBA GM’s everywhere to think before gambling on a European ‘star’.
Not only do the Bucks get to draft with the number two pick, they have the number 31, 36 and 48 picks in the draft. John Hammond has never been shy about making trades on draft night, (see trading Jimmer Fredette) so I wouldn’t expect him to be shy about trading some of these second round picks.
So the big question is, “Who do the Milwaukee Bucks pick with the number two overall pick?” That question became a much harder one to answer, after Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry bought the Bucks in April for $550 million. It gives some optimism to Bucks fans that both the new ownership duo and Herb Kohl will gift a combined $200 million to help pay for a new arena. To put things in perspective, the estimated cost of a new arena in Milwaukee is between $450 and $550 million. However, if there is no solid feeling from the NBA, or a plan in place coming from the City of Milwaukee that makes a significant effort to build an arena by 2017, the Bucks will be bought back by the NBA for $600 million and likely be moved to Seattle.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker wants the state to help Milwaukee get a new arena to keep the Bucks, as it would look bad for Wisconsin’s government to lose such a strong, economic revenue source. However, according to a source of mine that is on the board of trustees in charge of finding solutions for a new arena, Walker won’t make a decision on the matter until after his November campaign for re-election.
Since government funding is temporarily on hold, the Bucks must improve their product on the floor to gain more public support/fans. Here is where I break down the options for the Bucks at the number two spot, since it is very unlikely that they want to trade this pick.
Option 1 (seems to be the most likely outcome): The Cleveland Cavaliers take Joel Embiid at number one, leaving the Bucks to choose Andrew Wiggins from Kansas or Jabari Parker from Duke. There are no other players that have the potential star power of Wiggins and Parker, as these are the two names NBA scouts have been praising for years.
Wiggins averaged 17.1 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game during his freshman year at Kansas, all while shooting nearly 45 percent from the field. Wiggins’ athleticism is incredible, as he has a 7-foot wingspan and a 44-inch vertical leap standing at 6’8”. LeBron James also has a 44-inch vertical leap, just to put things into perspective.
Jabari Parker averaged 19.1 points, grabbed 8.7 rebounds per game in his lone season at Duke and shot over 47 percent from the field. He is 6’9” and has a 6’11” wingspan. The two are very comparable and I think the Milwaukee Bucks would be lucky to get either of these two.
If I were making the pick, I would take Andrew Wiggins. Many NBA scouts think that Andrew Wiggins has a higher ceiling of potential than Parker. Option A is a win-win situation in my opinion, as taking Parker or Wiggins would be a smart decision. Now, I will present the less attractive options.
Option 2: Surprise! The Cleveland Cavaliers take Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker instead of Joel Embiid. Take that sports media; Dan Snyder is the king of misdirection, incompetency and insanity (the latter comes from how he responded to LeBron’s departure, then took back his comments)!
Should the Bucks draft Joel Embiid? NO, they already have Larry Sanders who is a strong defensive anchor at center. Even if the Bucks felt that Embiid would fit them better at the five, what would the trade market be like for Larry Sanders? He has a strong temper (led the league in technical fouls a year ago) and has had off the court issues. Larry Sanders has time to grow into his position and time to mature. Selecting Embiid feels like it would be a step backwards. This option could happen, but if Cleveland doesn’t pick Embiid, the Bucks should not take him. Whoever is left between Parker and Wiggins is the smart pick, since either of the two fills a major void at Small Forward that opened up with the departure of Caron Butler.
The logic behind why some people think this could happen comes from the idea that Brandon Knight can’t be an elite point guard. True, he is more of a natural shooting guard, but that doesn’t mean he can’t play point guard (he already has adjusted to playing the one this past season). Knight is slightly short for the two and switching him out of the point guard spot seems counter-productive for his development. Not to mention, why take the chance on Dante Exum, who sat on the sidelines this entire past year even though he had the option to play college basketball? Yes, Exum has potential to be a very good player, but his risks and unknowns outweigh the potential gain of drafting him.
What do you think about Chris's assessment of the Bucks' options on draft night? Leave a comment below the link.
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It is still over 9 months away but please start considering joining a Relay For Life team at your school next year. For more information on how to join a team at Marquette please contact Kristen Krawczyk at kristen.krawczyk@marquette.edu.
It is still over 9 months away but please start considering joining a Relay For Life team at your school next year. For more information on how to join a team at Marquette please contact Kristen Krawczyk at kristen.krawczyk@marquette.edu.
Love the "Always Sunny in Philadelphia" reference!
ReplyDeleteUnder option 1 you suggest that the Bucks should pick Wiggins because he has a higher ceiling. Then under option 2 you suggest the Bucks should draft Parker over Embiid. I would argue that Embiid would have a higher ceiling than Parker; a high risk (because of injuries) high reward (because analysts say he could be as good as Olajuwon). Additionally, by drafting Embiid you could move Sanders to the 4 spot with Henson rotating off the bench. Embiid could also replace Sanders if he continues getting in trouble off the court or injured, resulting in him not being able to play. I think Parker would have a tougher time finding time on the floor because I think he would compete with "The Greek Freak" (I'm not even going to bother trying to spell his name) at the 3 spot.
I agree with you that Wiggins would be the best option for the Bucks. If he were to land on the Bucks, I would project their ideal starting line up to be: PG - Knight SG - Wiggins SF - "The Greek Freak" PF - Henson C - Sanders. The one problem I have with Wiggins playing on the Bucks is that I feel he plays a position very similar to "The Greek Freak." Both are long-armed defenders that play a wing man positions.
Whoever they end up picking I don't expect the team to go from zero-to-hero. I think they still have a few more years of rebuilding and developing chemistry to make a strong playoff push. It will be interesting to see what the Bucks do with those 3 second round picks too.
The case could be made that Illyasova had a down year last season as well and has a lot to offer yet. I don't think Henson has developed enough to be a reliable starter to beat him out. Larry Sanders also was getting used to playing the 5 the past 1.5 seasons, so switching him to an over-sized 4 might also hinder his development. Also, if Sanders were to play 4, Illyasova and Henson may go to waste if the Bucks don't get the right trade value back for one/both of them.
DeleteNothing wrong with having 2 similar style players Cam, both have been compared to LeBron (Wiggins) and Kevin Durant (Giannis, if he works on his jumper) respectively in terms of athleticism. There are a lot of questions about the durability of Embiid. The last time there was so much hype about a Center going No. 1 overall was Greg Oden to Portland. He was never 100% healthy in his career.
Looks like Embiid is going to fall out of the top 3. The Bucks pick should be fairly easy now, take either Wiggins or Parker, whoever is left. The intrigue comes when you look at the possible trade options. I've heard the 76ers have a hard one for Wiggins, they could pull a trade with the Cavs, or the Bucks (if Wiggins is still there). I've also heard a possible trade with the Kings that would send their 8th pick and Ben Mclemore to the Bucks for Knight and Sanders. I think this would be a bad trade for the Bucks, but that's because I'm high on Knight's potential and I don't think they could find his value at the 8th spot.
DeleteWho do you think will be around for the Bucks at the second round? I haven't looked too far beyond the top 8 prospects for this draft.
And you're right that there is nothing wrong with having 2 similar style players, especially with those two players and their potential. I was just thinking they may not complement each other on the offensive side.
And the only think hindering Sanders' development is his substance use habits. I hope he can straighten up his off the field issues because he's something special on the basketball court.
Right now I don't know which Bucks contract was worse: Dan Gadzuric's 6 year $36 mill, Drew Gooden's 5 year $32 mil, or OJ Mayo's 3 year $24 mil. The Bucks may have a good starting 5 in the next few years, but they CANNOT make these contract mistakes any more.
Draft day is coming up, happy drafting
Can't wait, had a bad feeling about Embiid all along and it seems justified now. Larry Sanders is expected to go to rehab FYI:
Deletehttp://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24593161/report-larry-sanders-expected-to-enter-rehab-this-summer