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Wisconsin Herd select 11 players in NBA G League Expansion Draft

By Ti Windisch

OSHKOSH, WI - AUGUST 11: Wisconsin Herd president Steve Brandes (left) introduces Herd general manager Dave Dean (center) and head coach Jordan Brady (right) during a press conference at the Oshkosh Convention Center on August 11, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
OSHKOSH, WI - AUGUST 11: Wisconsin Herd president Steve Brandes (left) introduces Herd general manager Dave Dean (center) and head coach Jordan Brady (right) during a press conference at the Oshkosh Convention Center on August 11, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Although most of them will not suit up for the Wisconsin Herd, the Herd selected 11 players in the 2017 NBA G League Expansion Draft on Wednesday.

The 2017 NBA G League Expansion Draft was held on Wednesday so that the four G League expansion teams could try to populate their barren rosters, and the Wisconsin Herd did just that by selecting the maximum 11 players it could get.

Teams were given the option to pass on any of their 11 selections, but doing so forfeits the rest of the draft. Since most of the players won’t actually sign with their G League club anyway, forfeiting free draft rights doesn’t make much sense.

Wisconsin added the rights to three centers, five forwards, and three guards. The players selected, in order, are Vince Hunter, Gracin Bakumanya, Perry Ellis, Corey Walden, Josh Davis, Michael Dunigan, Jarvis Summers, James Siakam, Kyle Casey, Cady Lalanne, and Tyler Harvey.

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All but Bakumanya attended an NCAA university before ending up in the D-League–he jumped right from Montverde Academy to the professional leagues. The Herd selected the maximum two players from the Greensboro Swarm and Northern Arizona Suns themselves.

As noted in my piece before the expansion draft, do not expect all 11 of these players to suit up for the Herd next season, or at all. Recent history shows most expansion draftees do not suit up for their club–many of these players have or will find deals overseas that are more lucrative than the G League.

Still, Wisconsin gets to possess the players’ draft rights for up to two years, meaning if any of them play somewhere else then return to the G League to attempt to make the NBA, the Herd gets the option to add them to the roster. These draft rights can be traded, making them potentially alluring trade chips for expansion teams to possess.

According to Matt Velazquez at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Herd walked away from Wednesday’s draft with four of their estimated top five available players: Hunter, Bakumanya, Ellis, and Walden.

In that same Velazquez article, Wisconsin general manager Dave Dean spoke candidly about the number of players drafted that will actually even be courted to enter training camp this season.

"“We drafted 11 players today, I would say that 4-6 of those guys are guys we’ll really target to bring into camp this year,” Dean said. “(We drafted) knowing full well that a few of these guys we drafted are in Europe and will not be available this year, but we can look to them going forward in 2018-’19.”"

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Even though some of the players picked will not join the Wisconsin Herd, it’s an exciting day nonetheless. A few future Herd players have been identified, and more will surely come as the G League season draws closer.

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