The Milwaukee Bucks Summer League team opens their five game slate tonight against the Brooklyn Nets. It offers coaches and fans the opportunity to see some of the younger players on the roster show what they can bring to the table. Bucks assistant coach Vin Baker will be coaching the team. Let’s take a look at three players to keep an eye on starting tonight.
Milwaukee Bucks Summer League players to watch: MarJon Beauchamp
It’s fairly obvious that there will be a lot of eyes on MarJon Beauchamp, as summer league is the first time to see draft picks in action with their teams and all fans are watching to see the selections get their first action with their new teams. What are we watching during Beauchamp’s first minutes as a Milwaukee Buck?
One thing to watch for is his defensive intensity, MarJon Beauchamp was touted as an athletic wing standing at 6’6″ with a wingspan reaching 7’0″, seeing this length and athleticism combine on the defensive end will definitely be something to watch.
Flipping to the other side of the ball is where more questions lie with Beauchamp. He shot 57.1 percent on field goals with the G-League Ignite, however, that figure is a little misleading based on the fact that MarJon made 68.0 percent of his two point attempts and just 24.2 percent of 3-point attempts. So something to keep an eye on starting tonight will be if Beauchamp can demonstrate some ability to score from all three levels of the floor. Also on the offensive end watching to see if he can create opportunities for teammates to score.
Considering he is the Milwaukee Bucks first first round draft pick since Donte DiVincenzo, there will certainly be a lot of eyes on MarJon Beauchamp.
Milwaukee Bucks Summer League players to watch: Sandro Mamukelashvili
The next player Milwaukee Bucks fans should be watching during summer league is Sandro Mamukelashvili. Reason being Mamu holds one of the Bucks two two-way contracts between the Bucks and Wisconsin Herd. Last year in 41 games Mamu had some low averages but put up some encouraging percentages, at the NBA level Sandro shot 49.6 percent on field goals, 81.8 percent on free throws and 42.3 percent on 3-point shots.
On the Wisconsin Herd Mamukelashvili was in the headlines often, Sandro put up a very impressive stat line, 20.7 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Mamu showed off a lot of offensive versatility, which was on full display during the Bucks regular season finale against the Cleveland Cavaliers when Sandro scored 28 points on 10/18 shooting, 13 rebounds and four assists.
What makes Sandro such a key player to watch is the opportunity he has should he take another step forward this coming season. While Brook Lopez has been the Milwaukee Bucks locked in center since arriving in Milwaukee in 2018. The Bucks also re-signed last year’s trade deadline acquisition Serge Ibaka, giving the Bucks two veteran options at center for 2022-23. However, both of those players will be free agents next summer. Leaving the window of opportunity wide open for Sandro Mamukelashvili to grab a spot in the Bucks rotation at the center position and giving the Bucks their first successful draft and develop player in some time.
Should Mamu take a big step forward this season, starting with summer league, he could be a big time factor for the team going forward.
Milwaukee Bucks Summer League players to watch: A.J. Green
The last player I believe Milwaukee Bucks fans should be keeping an eye on starting tonight is A.J. Green. An undrafted player out of Northern Iowa, Green grabbed the Bucks other two-way contract. Interesting given that his name wasn’t heard on draft night. What does Green bring to the table?
The answer is relatively simple, shooting, some ball handling, and more shooting. A.J. Green needs essentially no space to get his jump shot off, whether it be a pull up 3-pointer, which he can make from any range, leading me to believe he’ll have no trouble adjusting to the league in that aspect, or driving the ball to get a short or mid-range look. Being a player that can score in bunches, Green will fit seamlessly to Mike Budenholzer’s “let it fly” offensive philosophy. Last season at UNI Green averaged 18.8 points shooting 38.8 percent on 3-point attempts. It is also worth noting that Green made 91.5 percent of his free throws.
What I think is very interesting with A.J. Green and why I’ll be keeping such a close eye on him is because he is the same height as Grayson Allen and brings a very similar skillset to the table. If Jon Horst decides to be active in the trade market and decides Grayson Allen is worth trading, a dark horse player to fill Grayson Allen’s role in the future, could be A.J. Green. While admittedly this is a bit of a longshot to think that the Bucks would replace a starter with an undrafted rookie, it is worth keeping an eye on to consider where the future direction of the team goes. The philosophy does remain the same for the time being though, you can never have too many shooters around Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Bucks begin their summer league schedule tonight, stay tuned to see if these three or any other players make a statement heading into the 2022-23 season.