Milwaukee Bucks: Grading every draft of the past decade
By Ben Sewell
2011
19. Tobias Harris (via trade)*
40. Jon Leuer
Grade: C
*Harris was brought to Milwaukee with Beno Udrih, Shaun Livingston and Stephen Jackson in a three team trade which sent the 10th pick (Jimmer Fredette) and Jon Salmons to Sacramento and the seventh pick (Bismack Biyombo) and Corey Maggette to Charlotte.
The 2011 draft was a bit of a mess for Milwaukee in that three-team trade. Essentially, the trade was used as a salary dump for John Salmons and Corey Maggette. In return, the Bucksreceived Jackson, (who only lasted half a season before being traded away), Livingston and Udrih who both provided serviceable back up minutes for Milwaukee at point guard and the 19th pick which turned into Tobias Harris. Harris was in Milwaukee for a season-and-a-half, and averaged 5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.
Harris was then inexplicably traded midseason to Orlando in a deal that sent J.J. Redick’s expiring deal to Milwaukee to help strengthen their playoff hunt ambitions.
Harris found far greater success with Orlando after this trade and if we were grading that particular trade in hindsight, it would be scoring a solid F! As we are just focussing on this draft however, Harris became a solid rotation piece and should be judged accordingly.
Wisconsin Badgers senior, Jon Leuer was taken with the 40th pick. Leuer was a solid rotation piece for the Bucks, averaging 4.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in his only year in Milwaukee. Leuer was then traded in a deal which sent Samuel Dalembert to the Bucks, as a ways to strengthen their big man stocks (yes, there was a time when Milwaukee did not possess four centers).
As can be seen, the 2011 draft was a bit of a mess but when isolated, Hammond found some solid, if not short lived pieces. Harris, Udrih, Livingston and Leuer were all solid rotation players in Milwaukee for the time they spent there and as a result, Hammond receives a C for this effort.