Milwaukee Bucks: Draft poses variety of tough questions about future

By Adam McGee | Jun 2, 2018

MILWAUKEE, WI - MAY 21: (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Milwaukee Bucks will face some tough decisions in this year’s NBA draft, and may even end up hinting towards future plans with their choices.

With Mike Budenholzer in place as head coach, a new era is set to get underway for Milwaukee Bucks basketball. Still, this is by no means a clean slate for the organization.

The Bucks already have valuable roster pieces in place, and as a result, each decision they make comes with real stakes attached. That sense is only heightened by the less than ideal cap position the Bucks currently find themselves in, and the likes of Jabari Parker, Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe and Malcolm Brogdon all having the potential to leave this summer or in 2019 as free agents.

With that in mind, the draft is vital for the Bucks, and the 17th pick they just managed to hang on to this year offers them a wide range of possibilities.

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Still a few weeks out from the draft, perhaps more interesting than the individual players the Bucks could take is what that decision may say about the franchise’s current and future direction.

The team’s 2018 draft pick could be used on a player capable of stepping in to replace any of the current Bucks who could possibly depart in the next 13 months or so, tipping everyone off to their plan in the process.

On a much simpler level, though, the type of prospect Jon Horst and his front office team opt for will be equally telling.

In recent years, the Bucks have boasted a track record of surprise success in the second round with established college players like Brogdon and Sterling Brown, yet their results have been much less favorable when chasing unproven, high potential players like Rashad Vaughn, Thon Maker and D.J. Wilson in the first round.

The result is the Bucks arrive at this point with a bona fide superstar in Giannis Antetokounmpo, some really nice supporting pieces around him, but a roster that’s still lacking something.

The Bucks could use more options, but they could also use another star. Adding more capable contributors in the mold of Brogdon and Brown would be a welcome boost, yet if a higher risk first round pick was to pan out for Milwaukee it may be a complete game-changer.

Of course, the dream scenario is Milwaukee adds a player ready to contribute immediately still possessing the potential to become an even better player, yet the reality is it’s rare for those kind of players to slide all the way to 17.

If choosing one option or the other, the Bucks will be left in a spot where they show their hand somewhat to the wider NBA.

Big swings in the first round have become a Bucks staple, yet if that trend persists it will only indicate the front office’s desire to keep pushing for another star to add to their roster. That approach in the draft is risky, but it may also hint at a willingness to keep chasing big stars to pair with Antetokounmpo via trade or free agency over the next couple of seasons.

On the other hand, a safer selection may indicate a level of confidence and belief in what they already have place. Going further, it may even suggest a belief that Budenholzer and his famed development team can unlock new levels for the Bucks just by offering the kind of coherent structures and guidance that weren’t necessarily a feature of the previous regime.

The truth is there’s a strong argument to be made for each path, yet with the clock constantly ticking toward Antetokounmpo’s free agency, the Bucks may be reaching a point where they have to commit to one approach and stick the landing in hope of promising results.

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The next month and what the Bucks do in this year’s draft will be important for the future shape of the franchise, but the decision is only made all the more interesting by what the move may hint at in terms of decisions and deals to come further down the line.

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