Milwaukee Bucks NBA Draft Prospect Watch: Grant Riller

Milwaukee Bucks NBA Draft Prospect – Grant Riller: Fit with the Bucks

As we continue to dive into this draft and explore which ways the Bucks can go to add to their roster, it’s becoming very apparent this class features many promising guards and lead ball-handlers, including Riller.

And as Milwaukee will be forced to address the guard position on their roster over the next year or so, this may be the class that can help them find a young player to develop while both Eric Bledsoe and George Hill make up the established guard rotation under head coach Mike Budenholzer.

Along with that, Riller’s projections from reputable draft sources indicate that he will likely be available when the Bucks select in the first round. Riller’s marvelous productivity and highly efficient statistical profile, especially scoring the ball, helps his case, even if it did come against mid-major competition.

While he was primarily used on the ball in college, Riller’s ability to play off the ball and standing as an above-average 3-point shooter off the catch could make him a solid option to play off of someone like Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the rest of the team’s cornerstones and offensive forces.

And certainly, adding Riller’s scoring punch and elite finishing abilities would be tailor-made in the kind of spacing and system the Bucks have built offensively under Budenholzer.

On the other side of the coin, Riller’s lack of positional size, physical tools and defensive questions are concerns that are too big to ignore. While he has the athleticism that creates the possibility he can become a decent defender down the line, the way in which the Bucks guard, defend, and are forced to fight through screens repeatedly might not be conducive to Riller’s physical profile.

Bucks general manager Jon Horst has shown that he’s not afraid of taking on older prospects in favor of finding players who reasonably fit within the team’s foundation and system as in the cases of Donte DiVincenzo and D.J. Wilson.

There are ways to think that Riller can do the same, especially on the offensive end, and his readymade status might make him a diamond in the rough for some team that takes him deep in the draft. But it’s hard to shake the suspicion that the Bucks can find a prospect who offers some more resistance defensively, especially at the same position as Riller.