5 small ball power forwards the Milwaukee Bucks must target in offseason

The Milwaukee Bucks should target E.J. Liddell this offseason

The Milwaukee Bucks are set to select 24th in the 2022 NBA Draft, and they could look to fill their small ball forward opening by taking E.J. Liddell if he is on the board.

Standing at 6-foot-7, 240lbs, Liddell is someone that could come into the league and hold his own against bigger players. Due to his strong build and defensive versatility, some fans have compared Liddell to Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams, who is coincidentally someone that Milwaukee was targeting ahead of the 2022 trade deadline. On the other side of the basketball, Lidell put up some fascinating numbers during his junior year as he averaged 19.4 points per contest while also sinking 49 percent of his field goals, including 37.4 percent from deep. Though there are questions as to how Liddell would fit in with the Bucks, largely due to his reliance on scoring inside, he could be the perfect small ball forward for them to target utilizing their first round pick. Not to mention that taking him would also check off the box of adding youth this offseason.

Leading up to the NBA Draft, it appears that Liddell is someone that the Bucks have at least kicked the tires on. As previously reported by The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov, the Bucks are among several teams that have interviewed Liddell ahead of the 2022 draft, so they are doing some homework on the 21-year-old. Ultimately, for the Bucks to select Liddell, they will have to not only keep their first round selection, but the forward will also have to still be available when they are on the board at 24. At this point, Liddell is positioned somewhere between 20-25 in most mock drafts, so there is a legitimate chance the Bucks will be able to snag him, but only time will tell.

Stay tuned to see how the Milwaukee Bucks tackle their need for a small ball four this offseason.