Milwaukee Bucks: Internal growth will have to come with creativity

The Milwaukee Bucks’ long-term future is quite uncertain and some of that is owed to the fact that their internal development has been far from a strength.

As the Milwaukee Bucks‘ past, present and future all intertwine at this moment, their crossroads is plain to see.

All eyes are focused on Bucks superstar and back-to-back MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the questions that surround his future, specifically his future in Milwaukee, with a supermax extension waiting on the table. The Bucks’ foundation has proven to be strong, but not strong enough to reach their ultimate goal of winning an NBA championship over the last two seasons.

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What is not nearly as strong for the Bucks is the general lack of internal development they’ve shown, specifically building through the draft.

That’s two-fold as the Bucks’ recent history of draft picks is a ghastly sight on paper. The fact that Antetokounmpo remains the last pick to be drafted by the Bucks and sign a rookie-scale contract extension with the team as he did in September of 2016 highlights what has been a lot of misses from recent Bucks front office regimes.

With that said, the growing exception to that rule is second-year guard Donte DiVincenzo, whose breakout this season provides hope for his future in the league.

The second problem facing the Bucks from traditionally growing from within is the fact that they have a diminishing pile of draft picks under their control. Whether it’s cleaning up past free agency mistakes, sending what had been future draft compensation to acquire Eric Bledsoe from the Phoenix Suns nearly three years or going all-in on Nikola Mirotic at the 2019 trade deadline, those dealings have come home to roost for this Bucks organization.

The Bucks, of course, netted themselves the 24th overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft via the Indiana Pacers in the Malcolm Brogdon sign-and-trade deal, but that’s certainly in jeopardy of being dealt away if they end up with the playmaking upgrade they seek this offseason.

With very few of their own first rounders not tied up in trades for the next several years, the Bucks currently have very few avenues to build through the draft and that is an absolute killer for any small-market team.

With that said, the Bucks under general manager Jon Horst have explored ways to try and incubate some developing talent in hopes of it paying off down the line.

Those notable examples being taking on projects such as Dragan Bender this season or Christian Wood last year and signing them to NBA deals. But between Wood and Bender, that pair of frontcourt players have combined to play a total of 153 NBA minutes across 20 appearances during their respective stays in Milwaukee before departing in favor of veteran stopgaps ahead of the Bucks’ last two playoff pushes.

Now, it’s obvious to point out that both Wood and Bender faced quite the challenge of trying to earn minutes in the face of the Bucks’ established frontcourt of Antetokounmpo and veteran big man Brook Lopez. And Wood has gone on to greater things with the Detroit Pistons and figures to land a good deal in free agency this winter, while Bender just returned overseas after bouncing around last season between the Bucks and the Golden State Warriors.

While the Bucks’ willingness to try to find diamonds in the rough has fostered clear improvements from the likes of Wood or current two-way player and reigning G League MVP Frank Mason III, it has not yet cracked into the Bucks’ foundation and overall formula.

Nonetheless, those shrewd processes will certainly have to be the Bucks’ lifeblood in order to form some level of internal core and development over the following few seasons. Utilizing the G League as well as they have in recent years, to the point where the Wisconsin Herd held the best record in the G League this year, does hold optimism in how they can use that level to develop players.

But it goes beyond just developing through the organization. The same processes and scouting will have to apply to looking abroad for players that have developed into NBA-ready role players while playing in Europe or elsewhere overseas. That also applies to scooping up an undrafted player and hoping they eventually stick down the road.

Again, these are all moves made on the margins and usually come a dime a dozen. The Bucks have made such moves with little to no payoff in terms of finding one that has stuck in their foundation at the NBA level. But when you look at the four teams left standing in this year’s NBA Playoffs, every one of the Celtics, Heat, Lakers and Nuggets all have notable examples of rotation players who reached the NBA through unconventional path and/or methods and are seeing regular minutes throughout the postseason.

The Bucks are short on draft picks, capped out and almost certainly going into the luxury tax as soon as next season, all while their hopes are pinned on Antetokounmpo. Through the decisions and moves made over recent years, the Bucks have backed themselves into a corner where building their internal core will have to be made through unconventional means.