Milwaukee Bucks need to make Pacers pick count in 2020 Draft
By Adam McGee
Whenever the 2020 NBA Draft ultimately takes place, the Milwaukee Bucks will need to make the most of the first round draft pick they received from the Indiana Pacers.
With Donte DiVincenzo enjoying a breakout season that has led to him becoming a key part of the Milwaukee Bucks’ rotation, the franchise have been given a timely reminder of the value that can be found just outside the lottery in the NBA Draft.
DiVincenzo became the third player in four years to be drafted 17th overall by the Bucks, but is already proving to be a considerably greater success than either D.J. Wilson or Rashad Vaughn before him.
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Whenever the 2020 NBA Draft ultimately takes place, the Bucks will once again be slotted to pick in that range of the first round, thanks to the pick they received from the Indiana Pacers via the Malcolm Brogdon sign-and-trade.
If the regular season doesn’t resume, that pick will convey as either the 19th or 20th overall selection, pending a tiebreaker with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Considering the salary cap could be set to plummet, and the Bucks’ mid-term future residing in the luxury tax seems like an inevitability, the importance of cost controled assets has rarely been greater for Milwaukee.
With multiple potential pending free agents, the Bucks may well need reinforcements too, but this pick will need to be one that can have a longer-term impact rather than simply being a short term fix too.
That seems to be something that general manager Jon Horst is acutely aware of too, as he outlined in conversation with Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
"“The pick is going to be impactful to our roster going forward,” Bucks general manager Jon Horst said in a recent conference call. “It’s a great opportunity for this team that’s already achieving at a high level, a team that’s going to have a top record in the NBA or at least a top-two record in the NBA. To end up having a pick that’s late lottery, early 20s is really a great asset.”"
With the hope being that this offseason will also include Giannis Antetokounmpo putting pen to paper on a supermax extension, the Bucks’ cap situation will remain challenging for years ahead. To ensure they stay at a level of competitiveness that will keep Giannis content for years to come, their roster will require a caliber of players that may ultimately only be available to them by making shrewd selections with the draft picks they do have.
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Trades have meant that Horst hasn’t yet had as many opportunities to flex his muscles in the draft as he has in other departments since becoming general manager, but Bucks fans will hope he’ll get to build on his stellar overall work to date when Milwaukee find themselves on the clock in this year’s draft.