Milwaukee Bucks NBA Draft Prospect Watch: Aleksej Pokusevski

Milwaukee Bucks NBA Draft Prospect Watch: Aleksej Pokusevski – Fit with the Bucks

The volatility that surrounds Pokusevski and his physical and skill development trajectory is clearly too big to ignore, and it’s only fitting that it comes within a draft class that currently has no consensus number one pick.

In some ways, that’s been borne out on the court where Pokusevski’s many flashes of brilliance have been paired with careless mistakes with the ball and inconsistent efficiency. The fact that Pokusevski’s physical concerns and overall durability have already been a problem during his young pro career doesn’t help matters either.

The risks are as laid bare as they can be when it comes to a team rolling the dice and taking the plunge with selecting Pokusevski. That team may even be the Bucks as the 18-year-old has steadily been thought of as a late first rounder outside of the lottery, right where Milwaukee currently lies ahead of the season restarting.

For as many and significant as those risks are, one can certainly envision a world in which Pokusevski’s vast potential can be harnessed into a translatable role with his skilled shooting and handling abilities. That also requires the teenager landing with a club that is designed to take the long road in being able to oversee all facets of Pokusevski’s development and game reps while knowing all of the growing pains that will surely come with it.

Milwaukee certainly knows a thing or two about all of that and the thought of Bucks front office personnel returning to Greece to scout another raw, lanky teenager with dazzling potential playing in the second division seven years after doing so with Giannis Antetokounmpo is almost too rich for fiction.

For the Bucks, Pokusevski almost does nothing to help maximize their chances of winning an NBA title in the immediate future. It will be too far down the line before we all know how viable of an NBA player Pokusevski will be.

And while under the scenario that Pokusevski is able to reach the dizzying heights that is his ceiling as a player, being able to have a development program in place and stagger game action may be more useful than leaving it in the hands of a team overseas and potentially squandering what is his prime development years at this point.

The Bucks certainly have the foundation and structure in place to bring in and help groom Pokusevski into being a piece for the future and extend this current window they’re in. To do so, though, only requires a huge leap of faith.