Feb 9, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Jorge Gutierrez (13) during the game against the Brooklyn Nets at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Milwaukee won 103-97. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
It’s that time of year where fans around the NBA are scrambling to see which free agent or draft prospect could help their team to take the leap to the next level. One place that always tends to be ignored in that mix is the D-League though.
The NBA’s Development League isn’t yet a true minor league system like the one that exists in the MLB, but it’s making significant strides forward, and becoming a place where there’s real talent to be found.
The Milwaukee Bucks know that more than most, and they demonstrated that last season by showing no hesitation to look to the D-League to strengthen their roster.
The Bucks added Chris Johnson from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Johnson played out the duration of two ten-day contracts with Milwaukee, before being snapped up almost instantaneously by the Utah Jazz upon the expiration of his second one.
Then, in need of some point guard depth later in the year, Milwaukee decided to bring Jorge Gutierrez of the Canton Charge in. Just like Johnson, Gutierrez had already played out two ten-day contracts in Milwaukee, except in his case it culminated in a later deal that saw him remain a Buck for the rest of the season.
With Summer League and training camp on the upcoming slate, it won’t be too long before the Bucks look for young, undrafted or D-League talent to come in and show their wares, but are there a few guys who they should take a more serious look at even before then?
In order to find out whether there was any D-League talent that could come up and contribute for Milwaukee, I reached out to friend of the site, Chris Reichert (@Chris_Reichert) of Upside and Motor, the Hardwood Paroxysm Network’s designated D-League and Draft hub.
Chris offered up five names of interest for Milwaukee, so let’s dig a little deeper and see what they’re all about.
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