Long after they drafted both Andre Jackson Jr. and Chris Livingston in Thursday’s 2023 NBA Draft, the Milwaukee Bucks were making calls.
Milwaukee picked up two players from the undrafted free agent pool, the first being Omari Moore from San Jose State. Per The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Bucks also plan to bring Drew Timme aboard via an Exhibit 10 deal. An Exhibit 10 is essentially a minimum deal that can be turned into a two-way deal if done before the season. This is certainly an interesting move by Milwaukee.
Bucks sign undrafted free agent Drew Timme: Reaction and analysis
Timme is coming off a tremendous four-year stay with the Gonzaga Bulldogs, where he developed quite the resume. His accomplishments include but are not limited to being named WCC Player of the Year twice, being named First-team All-WCC three times, and being recognized as a consensus first-team All-American in 2023. During those four years, Timme started in 105 of his 134 games and put up 17.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 0.9 blocks per contest.
While he’s undeniably a strong player, there are questions regarding how Timme would fit in with the Bucks. The 6-foot-10 big man was a 25 percent career 3-point shooter in college, having been a much more imposing threat in the post. Milwaukee has always liked their big men to be able to stretch the floor beyond the perimeter, with Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, and Meyers Leonard all serving as key examples. Yet, it makes sense for the team to stock up on frontcourt depth with Brook Lopez set to hit free agency and a ton of teams looking to poach him from Milwaukee.
In all likelihood, Timme will not be a member of the Bucks to start the season. However, the team could very well keep him around by placing him with the Wisconsin Herd, their G-League affiliate. That would allow Timme to develop and work on his game, and if the Bucks were then in need of some big man depth, the forward would be readily available. That’s just speculation. Who knows, perhaps a strong showing in the 2023 Summer League could change that notion and force the team to bring him aboard utilizing their second two-way slot, with the first having gone to fellow undrafted free agent Omari Moore.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis this off-season.