Milwaukee Bucks reportedly among teams who’ve interviewed with Daniel Oturu

By Jordan Treske | Sep 26, 2020

MADISON, WISCONSIN - MARCH 01: (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

From a report through the Star Tribune, the Milwaukee Bucks have reportedly interviewed with University of Minnesota big man Daniel Oturu ahead of the draft.

The Milwaukee Bucks face all sorts of questions this offseason and that certainly includes what they do with this year’s NBA Draft.

Holding the 24th overall pick, the Bucks face quite the range of questions heading into this year’s draft, all of which isn’t limited to who they could potentially select. Given the recent slew of rumors regarding the Bucks’ desire to beef up their playmaking and backcourt, their first round pick acquired via the Indiana Pacers last summer may eventually be dangled in trade discussions.

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But the Bucks’ front office continue to do their due diligence and interview many prospects throughout this time and that includes University of Minnesota big man, Daniel Oturu.

In a recent interview with Marcus Fuller of the Star Tribune, Oturu and his agency revealed that the Bucks are among the many teams who he has talked to throughout this unprecedented draft process:

"“All indications from Oturu’s agent Kevin Bradbury is that his client has been acing the interview process with NBA teams since the process started Aug. 19 with the Chicago Bulls. In the last month, he’s also talked with the Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, Milwaukee Bucks, Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers.”"

ESPN currently ranks Oturu 36th on their top-100 board while The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie ($$) ranked him 30th on his most recent Big Board.

While most of Oturu’s production stems from his throwback, back to the basket game, he appears to be scratching the surface of building a modern day skill set as he’s set to enter the NBA. His sophomore season with the Golden Gophers was certainly prolific as he averaged 20.1 points on a .563/.365/.707 slash line, 11.3 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.1 assists across 31 appearances on the season.

Certainly that 3-point efficiency stands out, but it wasn’t on a particularly high volume as Oturu went 19-for-52 from three last season. As he later told Fuller in that same piece, being able to fine-tune his jump shot has been one of the biggest points of emphasis over the last several months:

"“I’ve really been focusing on ways I can improve myself,” he said. “In the weight room, I’ve been focusing on getting my shoulders, legs and core stronger. I’m working on getting my jump shot even better than before [shot 36 percent last year]. Getting confident with my form but also the speed in my jump shot. I want to be able to play [power forward], but also a small-ball [center]."

The ability to develop his face up game and become a capable spot up shooter would do wonders for Oturu at the next level and certainly in terms of potentially sliding right into the Bucks’ system under head coach Mike Budenholzer. Equally important is being a stout rim protector and Oturu certainly has the production, physical tools and athleticism to block off the rim at the next level.

Even with questions over his size and his overall positional versatility surrounding him, Oturu is an interesting prospect and certainly seems within range of where the Bucks are selecting, based on projections from draft experts. Development and reps will certainly be essential for him to carve out a lengthy career in the pros.

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Whether that career will start in Milwaukee remains to be seen as they continue to hold their cards close to the vest when it comes to the pre-draft process under general manager Jon Horst. But plenty of questions exist whether they will ultimately add through the draft when November 18 rolls around.

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