Milwaukee Bucks: Getting to know new two-way player Trevon Duval
Looking at Duval’s playing style
For starters, Duval possesses an exceptional athletic ability and great physical tools for a point guard as he stands at 6’3″ and is armed with a 6’9″ wingspan.
The blend of Duval’s athletic gifts, physical profile and expert handles especially shine when he has the ball in his hands in transition creating scoring opportunities for himself and for others.
Those same traits (aside from the handles) also power Duval’s defensive potential and although it’s seen in inconsistent doses, the Delaware native can ratchet up the aggressiveness by disrupting passing lanes, which was seen in his steal rate from last season (2.8 percent).
However, two significant questions linger throughout Duval’s game at this stage in his development.
First, it’d be generous to describe Duval’s shooting prowess as a work in progress considering he knocked down 29 percent of his 106 three-point attempts at Duke last year. And as evidenced by his subpar free throw numbers (59.6 percent on 89 attempts), Duval is due for some serious overhauling in his shot mechanics.
Secondly, for all of the gifts and the potential Duval possesses, his issues with consistency and worrisome mental lapses have prevented him from harnessing his strengths into a steady, viable final product when on the court.
The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie summed it all up best regarding the challenges Duval faces as it relates to his NBA future when taking a look at all of the underclassmen that declared early in this year’s draft process:
"“Basically, there’s not a lot of polish to his game. He’s tailor-made for a two-way contract next year, as a G League team and personal training could really take some time with him on his jump shot and decision-making. Nobody doubts the athleticism and handle. He needs to improve upon the little things, though, to make an NBA impact.”"
As it turns out, we’ll get to see Duval’s individual development up front and center in both Milwaukee and Oshkosh.