Milwaukee Bucks: D.J. Wilson logs rare assignment with Wisconsin Herd

Third-year Milwaukee Bucks forward D.J. Wilson got some much needed playing time Thursday night while on assignment with the Wisconsin Herd in Oshkosh.

With playing time hard to come by with the Milwaukee Bucks this season, D.J. Wilson shook off some rust Thursday night.

The third-year forward made the trip up to Oshkosh in his first assignment with the Wisconsin Herd of the season, in what ended up being a rare loss for the Herd as they fell to the College Park Skyhawks in a 126-118 defeat at Menominee Nation Arena.

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Wilson got off to a fast start once action got underway as he reached double figures just under the six-and-a-half minute mark in the opening period, thanks to his ability to can a couple of 3-point looks.

And the 24-year-old displayed a few smooth jumpers off the dribble, including one from downtown, to fuel the Herd’s hot start. Unfortunately, College Park soon turned the tables on the G League’s best and Wilson struggled to sustain his own blazing start, especially scoring the ball.

With that said, Wilson looked to make plays bringing up the ball on the break to drive the Herd’s breakneck pace, something they’ve taken and literally run with from the Bucks and head coach Mike Budenholzer.

There’s no denying that Wilson has the ability to dish off passes to cutting teammates, kicking the rock out to open shooters from long distance and the same applies to the two-man game he can utilize in handoff actions. But Wilson struggled to keep the same execution in both the halfcourt and when tightly guarded.

Switching sides, Wilson’s defensive communication was on full display as he gave the Herd plenty of organization, especially when getting back and defending in transition. Despite his fundamental play on the boards, Wilson’s size and physical deficiencies resurfaced when going up against some of the Skyhawks’ burly, physical centers such as Mark Ogden and Nick Ward.

All in all, Wilson finished with 19 points on 16 shots (2-for-5 from downtown, 3-for-5 from the free throw line), nine rebounds, five assists, four turnovers and was a +24 in nearly 32 minutes of run.

Wilson became the third Bucks player to be sent on assignment to the Herd between Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Dragan Bender. And Bender endured through foul trouble last night before finishing with 15 points on 12 shots (0-for-2 from deep, 4-of-5 from the foul line), eight rebounds,  five fouls, two blocks, one steal in 26 and a half minutes of run.

Whether this rare trip to the Fox Valley will reinforce what the Bucks see in Wilson’s development trajectory or help him to crack through in the Bucks’ rotation under Budenholzer remains to be seen. That isn’t to recklessly speculate over Wilson’s future in Milwaukee, especially with this season’s trade deadline now a little less than a week away.

But the feel good story that Wilson was and became over the Bucks’ 60-win campaign last year has been put on hold all season long. Case in point, Wilson has been limited to 235 total minutes across 26 appearances over his third season with the Bucks and has averaged 3.1 points on .405/.244/.714 splits, 2.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists.

The reality of Wilson’s dilemma and struggle to find consistent minutes is he’ll always be blocked by superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and Ersan Ilyasova, who has stayed healthy and is on track to have his most efficient season of his career under his reserve role. And with Robin Lopez in the fold, any experimental minutes at the 5 Wilson saw as a small ball center last year simply don’t exist at this stage.

Wilson may have finally had the chance to shake off some rust last night and get his biggest run of the year with the Herd, but the question is whether he’ll get the next chance to do so again with the Bucks and beyond garbage time minutes.