Wisconsin Herd: Getting to know the 11 expansion draft picks

The Wisconsin Herd started to shape their roster with 11 selections in the NBA G League’s expansion draft, but who are the players they picked?

Wednesday marked a significant day in the fledgling history of the Wisconsin Herd as the G League’s expansion draft offered up some insight into the players who could potentially earn a spot on the Herd’s roster for their inaugural season.

The Herd joined the Agua Caliente Clippers, Memphis Hustle and Erie BayHawks in making their selections in the expansion draft, finishing up with 11 selections for fans of the Bucks and their new affiliate to wrap their heads around.

The rumblings from the Herd’s key decision-makers was largely positive in the aftermath of the picks, with Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporting:

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"“According to their list, the Herd selected four of their top five targets and seven of their top 12.”"

The feedback from the G League community was very positive to the Herd’s draft. Chris Reichert of 2 Ways & 10 Days gave the Herd an ‘A’ grade for their picks — the best of the four teams involved. SB Nation blog Ridiculous Upside also sounded their approval of the Oshkosh-based team’s dealings on Twitter.

As our own Ti Windisch explained on Wednesday morning, many of the Herd’s expansion draft selections may not ultimately suit up for the team, but there is still value to be had in making good decisions and holding valuable player rights.

With Bronson Koenig and Jalen Moore bound to spend plenty of time with the Herd by way of their two-way deals with the Bucks, and JeQuan Lewis also reportedly set for a G League opportunity if he doesn’t make the Bucks’ roster in training camp, who else could be set to join them in Oshkosh?

Without further ado, let’s get to know the 11 men selected by the Herd in the expansion draft.

Vince Hunter

With their first pick, the Herd selected a player with a taste of proven G League success, a standout Summer League showing, and a strong pedigree from international play.

Vince Hunter is a 23-year-old forward who went undrafted out of the University of Texas at El Paso in 2015, but has since shown himself to be an incredibly effective and productive professional basketball player.

As Chris Reichert of 2 Ways & 10 Days wrote in reacting to the Herd’s choice to pick Hunter:

"“Vince Hunter is a damn monster. He was the only player two years ago to average at least 21/11 (minimum 10 games played) and was robbed when he wasn’t named Rookie of the Year. He bolted mid-season for Greece and then spent last year in Russia. Now he looks like he may make another run at the NBA and one would assume Wisconsin made sure he would be back before using their first pick on him.”"

As Reichert alluded to, Hunter averaged 21.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 1.4 assists and 1.0 steals in 32 games with the Reno Big Horns in 2015-16.

While across 26 games with Russia’s Avtodor Saradov last season, he also averaged 14.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

Still, currently a free agent, there’s a real chance that Hunter could suit up for the Herd this season, which should be a real cause of excitement for fans in the Fox Valley area.

Gracin Bakumanya

The second pick for the Herd is a player who does have some brief history with the Bucks organization, which may have played a role in his selection.

Bakumanya entered the 2016 NBA Draft class as a complete mystery, puzzling NBA execs as to why he hadn’t withdrawn his name from contention and waited for another year. During that process, Bakumanya did visit the Bucks for a workout on June 21, 2016, in their final grouping prior to that year’s draft.

Having unsurprisingly gone undrafted in the following weeks, the native of the Democratic Republic of Congo did finally get the chance to show the wider NBA world his game when he joined up with the Northern Arizona Suns last season.

For his year with the Suns, Bakumanya only averaged 10.4 minutes across 40 games, racking up 2.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game on 48.5 percent from the field.

While those stats aren’t exactly eye-popping, Bakumanya is still very young, raw, and capable of being molded into a real talent with the help of a top-class support system around him.

Perry Ellis

Perhaps the closest thing to a household name among the Herd’s selections on Wednesday is Perry Ellis. Having spent four seasons as a Kansas Jayhawk and being a McDonald’s All-American before that, Ellis has received plenty of media exposure over the years.

It was also considered something of a surprise when Ellis went undrafted in 2016, and the Bucks were among the teams to have worked him out during that process.

Ellis played in the G League last season, and put together a solid year for the Charlotte Hornets’ affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. During that year, the 23-year-old averaged 9.7 points and 4.7 rebounds, while shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 37.6 percent.

Unlike the majority of the players selected by the Herd in the expansion draft, Ellis is guaranteed not to be starting the season with the Herd as he’s currently under contract with Australia’s Sydney Kings.

Speaking to ESPN about his move to Australia back in July, Ellis made no secret of where his ambitions still lie:

"“My ultimate goal is to get to the NBA, but if it doesn’t happen, it is what it is. You move on and continue playing, wherever that might be. That’s my mindset.”"

If Ellis puts together a strong season in Sydney, perhaps a return to the Herd late in the season could be just what he needs to earn an NBA opportunity for 2018-19. Chris Reichert of 2 Ways & 10 Days explained that such a return could be in play for Ellis.

"“[The Herd] also have the chance Perry Ellis finishes his season in Australia and returns for the final month and a half of the season.”"

Corey Walden

Undrafted out of Eastern Kentucky in 2015, Corey Walden has gone on to pick up experience both in the G League and overseas.

A 25-year-old guard from Florida, Walden’s G League experience came with the Maine Red Claws, affiliate of the Boston Celtics, back in 2015-16.

During that season, Walden played in 41 games and averaged 12.2 points, 4.0 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals a night.

In the time since, Walden has been playing overseas. He spent last season in Belgium with Telenet Oostende where he averaged 9.4 points across 64 games, and in the last few weeks he has signed a deal to play in Israel for Hapoel Holon during the coming season.

In other words, if Walden does end up playing for the Herd, there’ll likely be at least a season-long wait for the fans to see that transpire.

Josh Davis

Don’t worry, this is not the Josh Davis who played four games for the Bucks way back in 2005, instead this Josh Davis is a forward out of San Diego State with some very notable G League experience to his name.

Davis last played in the G League in the 2014-15 season for the Austin Spurs, where he was a key contributor on a very strong team.

In that season, Davis averaged 13.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game over the course of 22 contests.

The reason for the limited number of games played by Davis was that his stellar play attracted attention from overseas, with the now 26-year-old leaving Austin to sign for Meralco Bolts in the Philippines.

Davis carried that impressive play over to Asia, where he averaged 21.6 points and 17.2 rebounds in 15 games.

Michael Dunigan

Unlike many of the players selected by the Herd, not only does Michael Dunigan have G League experience, but he actually played in the league last season.

A 28-year-old center with an abundance of pro experience gathered around the world, Dunigan was a member of the Canton Charge last season, in what was his third straight year with that particular franchise.

For his three years overall with the Charge, Dunigan averaged 8.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. Counting regular season and playoff games, Dunigan has over 100 games of G League experience to date.

Outside of that, Dunigan has also played professionally in Israel, Estonia, Italy, Ukraine, Australia, the Philippines, and South Korea.

Jarvis Summers

The 10th overall pick of the 2015 G League draft, Jarvis Summers has only featured very briefly in the league to date due to a season ending injury that was suffered just three games into his time with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Following his recovery from that injury, Summers headed for Europe and spent last season playing for Slovakian club BK Levicki Patrioti.

The former Ole Miss man enjoyed a solid bounce-back season in Slovakia, averaging 11.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steals across 40 games.

At only 24 years old, Summers will still be hoping to carry that momentum back Stateside and leverage it into a real NBA opportunity, and perhaps the Herd can help him do that.

James Siakam

The brother of Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, James Siakam will be hoping to use any time he gets in the G League this year to move toward emulating his brother in reaching the NBA proper.

Having played four years and a redshirt freshman season at Vanderbilt, Siakam went undrafted in 2015 and immediately picked up with the G League’s Delaware 87ers.

For that one previous season in the league, Siakam played in only five games before being waived by the 87ers, and averaged 4.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.0 steals in 16.2 minutes per game.

More recently Siakam spent last season in Canada where he played a single game for the Orangeville A’s, and also spent some time around the Island Storm. Siakam has also spent time with the G League’s Raptors 905, although he never played a game for Toronto’s affiliate.

Kyle Casey

Although former Harvard Crimson Kyle Casey has played most of his professional basketball in Slovenia having gone undrafted in 2014, he does have one season of meaningful G League experience under his belt.

Casey played for the Bakersfield Jam in 2015-16, appearing in a total of 50 games. During that sole season in the G League, Casey averaged 8.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 24.3 minutes per game.

As was mentioned above, Casey has also played for Helios Domezale in Slovenia on two separate occasions. Casey was even named as a Slovenian League All-Star in 2015.

Last season with Helios Domezale, Casey averaged 8.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists across all competitions.

Cady Lalanne

Undoubtedly one of the most talented players selected by the Herd in the expansion draft, Lalanne may also be among the least likely to ever actually pull on a Wisconsin jersey.

Lalanne signed a deal with Italian club New Basket Brindisi last week, ruling him out of contention for a Herd roster spot during the upcoming season at the very least.

Lalanne could well be a player whose rights are worth holding on to just in case, though. In his only previous season in the G League, the Haitian big man made the All-Star team. During that season with the Austin Spurs, he averaged 13.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks across 50 games.

Even last season while playing internationally, Lalanne impressed while playing in both Puerto Rico and China, cumulatively averaging 15.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 31 games.

Tyler Harvey

With their final selection, the Herd made what Chris Reichert of 2 Ways & 10 Days described as their only “wasted pick”. The reason for that is twofold, as having played overseas last season, Harvey may not return this year, but also because the Lakeland Magic hold his rights if he does.

Harvey’s previous G League experience came with the Erie Bayhawks back in 2015-16 when he averaged 11.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 steals per game across 37 contests.

Last season, Harvey played in Italy putting together a solid season for Serie A’s Fiat Torino. During his time in Turin, Harvey played in 29 games, averaging 11.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists a night.

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The chances of Harvey ever playing for the Herd are slim to none, but if he ever was to land in Oshkosh, he’s certainly a capable player.