Milwaukee Bucks: Where is MarJon Beauchamp in his development?

MarJon Beauchamp is only the second 1st round pick the Milwaukee Bucks have had under head coach Mike Budenholzer. The other being Donte DiVincenzo back in 2018, the year Budenholzer was hired. Beauchamp’s development has become the most recent point of emphasis in the anti-Budenholzer crowd among Bucks fans. Leaving many to wonder why Beauchamp isn’t playing a significant amount of minutes and why others are playing more than the rookie.

Let’s look at some common claims about MarJon Beauchamp and then assess where his game is at just past the halfway point of the 2022-23 season.

Where is MarJon Beauchamp in his development: Common claims

There are a vocal group of Bucks fans that operate in the minority of the fanbase but love to shout their displeasure with head coach Mike Budenholzer just about anytime they get the chance. This same vocal minority will spew their opinions without context to just about anyone who happens to scroll past their opinions, whether the opinion holds merit or is just an emotional knee-jerk reaction that sometimes follows a loss.

There are three main concerns for those voicing displeasure with how MarJon Beauchamp is currently being developed.

The first and shortest cry out from Bucks fans, not just Budenholzer detractors but from a larger part of the fanbase, is for MarJon Beauchamp not to be included in any trades made by General Manager Jon Horst.

The second compliant is certain players playing more minutes than Beauchamp, mainly Jordan Nwora. There could be potentially two explanations for Nwora getting more playing time as of late, one to try to squeeze out any remaining potential left in Nwora or two, trying to boost his trade value. Either way, it’s not likely that Jordan Nwora remains higher in the rotation than MarJon Beauchamp for long.

Finally, the complaint most often expressed is Budenholzer isn’t giving Beauchamp enough minutes. This complaint has followed claims that Budenholzer plays others undeserving of playing time (see complaint two), doesn’t know how to develop young talent and Bud has something against rookies.

I’d like to address that second and third claim. The claim that Mike Budenholzer doesn’t know how to develop young talent, how many chances has he had with Milwaukee to do so? Not many, as mentioned, Donte DiVincenzo is the only other first round pick that has been drafted and played for the Bucks since Budenholzer was hired. Go back to his days with the Atlanta Hawks and there are players that played better under Budenholzer than they have elsewhere, prime example being Dennis Schroeder. The final first round pick that Budenholzer had the opportunity to develop was John Collins, he seems to have worked out just fine.

As for the claim that Budenholzer has something against rookies, first I would again direct you to the pool of players to choose from, Jordan Nwora, Sandro Mamukelashvili and this year’s AJ Green and Hugo Besson. Besson is playing abroad and the other three have spent significant time with the G-League Wisconsin Herd. There really is no evidence to support the claim that Bud doesn’t like rookies, he simply hasn’t had many.

The other point I would like to make about Budenholzer not playing rookies is that the Milwaukee Bucks are not in a rookie playing phase in their franchise. The Bucks are in a win now mode with a stacked roster that a rookie is not likely to crack the top 10 in. The Bucks don’t need to be finding out what their rookies can do by playing them 30 minutes a night when they are focused on a championship.