Milwaukee Bucks: Assessing Jon Horst’s performance heading into draft night
By Ben Rauman
With the Milwaukee Bucks entering their second NBA Draft under the leadership of general manager Jon Horst, how well has Horst performed in his first year, and what can we expect from him on draft night?
The hiring of Jon Horst as general manager came following a particularly dysfunctional period of time for Bucks’ ownership.
After an excruciatingly drawn-out GM search, ownership balked at the opportunity to hire John Hammond’s heir apparent in assistant GM Justin Zanik, who had reportedly been hired the year before as the “GM-in-waiting” in preparation for Hammond’s departure.
Instead, ownership hired Director of Basketball Operations Jon Horst with about a week left before the 2017 NBA Draft.
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Horst’s previous role in the organization at least meant he had already been involved in the preparations for draft night, but there can be no disputing that the timing of the move left him and the franchise in a less than ideal situation for their first draft night.
With no time to rest after that, Horst was quickly moving on to free agency and tasked with an important decision on a potentially outgoing Buck. As the year went on, the GM showed no signs of slowing down either as he made significant decisions on trades and the head coaching spot.
Now, one year on from his surprising rise to the position, let’s assess each of Horst’s major moves and decisions thus far and determine his overall performance as GM of the Bucks.