Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 2018 NBA Summer League

The Milwaukee Bucks’ 2018 NBA Summer League came to a close following a second round loss, but what were the main takeaways from the week overall?

A monumental meltdown in the final minute of their second round game with the Philadelphia 76ers may have brought the Milwaukee Bucks’ Summer League to an end for another year, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t plenty of positives to take from the team’s recent stay in Las Vegas.

Summer League basketball is by no means a replication of NBA play, but it did provide the first opportunity for a Mike Budenholzer influenced Bucks team to take to the court.

Under the stewardship of assistant coach Taylor Jenkins, 2017 draft picks D.J. Wilson and Sterling Brown had a chance to work on their games in the kind of featured roles that wouldn’t be afforded to them with the Bucks otherwise.

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Although it proved to be more brief than Bucks fans would have hoped for, 17th overall pick Donte DiVincenzo suited up for his first action as a Milwaukee player also.

Beyond the players who already have existing relationships with the organization which will make them part of their plans for the next few seasons, there were also plenty of players hoping to force their way into that kind of consideration in Milwaukee or elsewhere in the NBA.

All combined, it made for a particularly interesting Summer League for Milwaukee, and one that at least included brief moments of success too. As we start to look ahead to the future, what are the key takeaways to keep in mind from the Bucks’ annual visit to Las Vegas?

Christian Wood has earned his shot

When news emerged of Christian Wood’s addition to the Bucks’ Summer League entry, there was certainly plenty of cause for intrigue.

Wood was viewed as a player of high potential when he went undrafted out of UNLV, and has since put together an impressive résumé in the G League between brief stints in the NBA. At just 22, he was certainly worth consideration from the Bucks, yet that sense has only increased based on his performances from Las Vegas.

Playing an average of 27.4 minutes per game across all five of Milwaukee’s match-ups in Summer League, Wood contributed 20.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game, while shooting 55.4 percent from the field.

Not only did those contributions make Wood stand out on a roster that included three recent draft picks, but it put him among the very best performers in Summer League.

According to Matt Velzaquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, multiple teams are interested in Wood’s services, which is by no means surprising.

At present, it would seem unlikely there’s a spot for him with the Bucks unless he’s willing to sign a two-way contract, but either waiving or trading Tyler Zeller could open up room for Wood to be a worthwhile gamble. Unfortunately, all signs point to that not being in play.

Even if it’s not in Milwaukee, it would be difficult to imagine Wood not being able to find a home with an NBA team next season based on his starring play in Vegas.

Joining the Herd?

While the Bucks’ Summer League team included James Blackmon Jr. and JeQuan Lewis who both spent last season playing in the G League with the Wisconsin Herd, the front office may be eager to add some others to that mix for the coming season.

The Herd could end up losing key contributors to more lucrative professional deals overseas or even two-way contracts from other NBA teams, and as a result, staying on top of every possible option to improve and build a competitive roster is essential at the G League level.

Travis Trice offered some of the most notable contributions through Milwaukee’s five games, not just showing great touch from three-point range (45.5 percent) and steady playmaking (4.0 assists per game), but also a knack for making important defensive plays at pivotal times.

Trice has played in Australia and Lebanon since he last suited up in the G League and, if he was to return, the Herd would likely still have to work on a deal with the Westchester Knicks.

Much less complicated cases on that front are undrafted rookies Jordan Barnett and Trae Bell-Haynes. Barnett, in particular, showed glimpses of sharpshooting, rebounding and athleticism which could all make him a valuable contributor in Oshkosh.

Whether any of those Summer League players end up with the Herd remains to be seen, but there are certainly a few of them worthy of such attention.

Ready to step up

Sterling Brown’s Summer League play was by no means perfect, but it included a number of incredibly positive moments and a sense that his development is continuing to trend in the right direction.

Not only does it seem like Brown is making progress, though, but it’s very easy to imagine him translating that into a more significant role in the rotation in the coming season too.

As a rookie, the 23-year-old’s defense paved the way to minutes, yet there are a variety of skills he can add to that to become an even more influential player under the new coaching staff.

Brown has the 3-and-D wing profile of so many of the players who benefited most from Budenholzer and his assistants during his time in Atlanta, and perhaps the first signs of looking to push the former SMU Mustang in that regard were there for all to see in Summer League.

The ball was frequently put in Brown’s hands, tasking him with initiating and creating for both himself and others. It didn’t necessarily result in improved efficiency, but it gave Brown a chance to demonstrate and work on a wider range of responsibilities.

The experience of game reps with those pressures should help Brown when he next takes a place in an NBA setting, where he’ll naturally be required to do much less. With averages of 16.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists to show from Vegas, it’s safe to say Brown’s future with the Bucks remains bright.

Not a lost cause…yet

After what was essentially a lost rookie season, all eyes were on D.J. Wilson as he showed up for his second Summer League as a member of the Bucks.

Wilson played sparingly with Milwaukee as a rookie, and never really was given a sustained spell with the Wisconsin Herd in the G League either. That left many eager to write Wilson off as an NBA player, but the reality is there’s so little to work with in terms of opportunity and sample size that such an assessment is likely a little premature.

There’s by no means any guarantee that Wilson will pan out, and it’s safe to say he’s in a position of needing to make up ground to remain in the league long-term, but in Vegas he offered some glimpses as to what a fully-realized version of his game could be.

In spite of what many hoped for, Wilson’s frame is unlikely to afford him a future at center, even though it’s worth noting that he looks significantly stronger than he did 12 months ago. Instead, Wilson’s future likely involves him being a versatile power forward.

Wilson is not the kind of player with a go-to strength, which would seem to significantly limit his ceiling and be the cause of great concern for those looking for a glimmer of hope in his game. What Wilson does offer, though, is a well-rounded base of skills that could allow him to be an impactful rotation contributor in a variety of ways.

It’s not all that likely Wilson will ever be a starter on a playoff-caliber team, but if he can apply himself with the right attitude in the coming years, his mix of feel when it comes to shooting, handling and passing, and his instinct for bold defensive plays could make him a quirky rotational big man with a viable path to a meaningful NBA career.

Wilson may not be what Bucks fans hoped he could have been, or what would necessarily be expected of a first round pick, but he could yet grow into a Boris Diaw-esque role player. To get to a level where he can live up to that kind of billing consistently will still take a lot of work, though.

Work to do for DiVincenzo

Injury limited Donte DiVincenzo’s floor time at Summer League, yet considering how he performed when he did get on the court, that may have been for the best in terms of the 17th overall pick’s confidence.

DiVincenzo failed to make a field goal across his 27-and-a-half minutes of action, and averaged 2.0 turnovers to counteract his 2.0 assists. The cause of his struggles was very likely a degree of rust coming off that groin injury, but the results themselves were still more than a little jarring.

Considering how much has been discussed about DiVincenzo’s shooting ability and its potential worth to the Bucks, comfortably the most obviously troubling sight was the 21-year-old’s multiple air-balls from beyond the arc.

While that might indicate a potential adjustment to NBA three-point range on the horizon, DiVincenzo’s brief cameos suggest he needs to work on his off-ball movement to free up higher quality looks too.

Summer League is by no means an environment that should lead to definitive statements about rookie prospects, and that’s even more relevant in DiVincenzo’s case based on his limited opportunity.

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Still, the former Villanova Wildcat’s play certainly suggests he has plenty of work to do in the coming weeks and months if he’s to have a chance of providing the kind of immediate impact he’s been sold with since draft night.