The Milwaukee Bucks have reportedly been linked to numerous draft prospects as of late, the latest inclusion being TCU sharpshooting wing Desmond Bane.
Another day, another prospect from this year’s NBA Draft linked with the Milwaukee Bucks.
The start of the virtual NBA Draft Combine this week has brought up plenty of rumors and links between the Bucks and various draft prospects who are looking to launch their professional careers come November 18, the date of this year’s draft.
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The latest player that the Bucks have reportedly set their sights on is TCU sharpshooting wing Desmond Bane.
Meeting with members of the NBA media Wednesday afternoon, Bane relayed that of the many teams he has met with, the Bucks, along with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Phoenix Suns, have shown the most interest in him and his representation throughout the process as Duane Rankin of the Arizona Central tweeted out:
TCU guard Desmond Bane said his agent thinks the Phoenix #Suns, Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks have showed the most interest in him. pic.twitter.com/QHVjxyQB0h
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) September 30, 2020
Bane currently ranks 41st on ESPN’s Top-100 Board while The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie ($$) currently has Bane 29th on his most recent Big Board. And for his senior season with TCU, Bane averaged 16.6 points on a .452/.442/.789 slash line, 6.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals across his 32 appearances.
While Bane is necessarily seen with high upside or a franchise-changing talent, the 22-year-old possesses highly valuable skills and qualities to take on a critical supporting role at the start of his NBA career.
That’s certainly headlined by his high-volume, dynamic sharpshooting and he finished his four years with the Horned Frogs going 43.3 percent from long distance on a staggering 575 total 3-point attempts over that span. If you want to add high-level shooting through the draft, which is something the Bucks have historically valued, it doesn’t get much better than that.
For as high lethal of a shooter as he is, to peg Bane as only a 3-point marksman undersells what else he can bring to the floor and impact an NBA team, especially offensively. Adding up some shot creation with his solid ball handling and playmaking on the wing gives Bane the ability to generate offense with the ball in his hands.
And while he is armed with a ridiculously short 6’4″wingspan at his 6’6″ frame, Bane’s strength, mobility and overall activity on the defensive end lend itself well on that side of the floor, despite his average physical tools and explosiveness.
For a team that adheres the ‘pass, dribble, shoot’ philosophy, it comes as no surprise that the Bucks would target a player like Bane who does all of those things very credibly. Whether he will last until the 24th overall pick is increasingly becoming the big question. The fact that the teams listed alongside the Bucks, the 76ers and the Suns, stand ahead of the Bucks in the first round order as Phoenix holds the 10th overall pick and Philly has the 21st overall selection.
But that’s getting ahead of ourselves at the moment. The fact that the Bucks have some level of interest in Bane is hardly a shocker. We’ll just have to see whether it ultimately leads to Bane coming into the fold in Milwaukee in a few weeks time.