Faced with the possibility of losing big man Brook Lopez this offseason, the Milwaukee Bucks picked up undrafted center Drew Timme out of Gonzaga with an Exhibit 10 contract.
After a disappointing postseason run where their youth and athleticism (or lack thereof) were exposed and picked apart, the Bucks are hoping that the 22-year-old Timme can be something of a project player for the eventuality that starting big man Brook Lopez ages or leaves the team.
Why Milwaukee Bucks fans should be excited about Drew Timme
Timme is a skilled scorer who can create his own shot. He is a good shooter from both inside and outside, and he has a soft touch around the rim. He averaged 21.2 points per game in his last season at Gonzaga, and he shot an extremely efficient 61.6 percent from the field.
His floor spacing is really the only drawback to the signing. Timme hardly attempted any shots from deep range and only converted on 16.7 percent of the shots he did take. He’ll be entering a Bucks team whose last offensive identity was letting it fly from 3-point range, so it will certainly be interesting to see how much he can expand his game in that regard.
Though he’s more of a traditional center, Timme is a good rebounder and a good passer, which makes him a relatively complete player for a big man. He averaged 6.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game in college, and he has the size and strength to compete for rebounds in the NBA while demonstrating he is a willing passer who can find open teammates.
For now, he’s a nice addition to Milwaukee’s center depth.
Dream ceiling for Milwaukee Bucks’ Drew Timme – Early Brook Lopez
The dream scenario is that Timme can capitalize on the near-elite game he showed throughout his four years at Gonzaga and continue to grow into a star-level player in the NBA despite his offensive deficiencies. Fortunately for him, his dream scenario is also his teammate on the Milwaukee Bucks.
Brook Lopez was drafted by the New Jersey Nets with the 10th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. He was a traditional center who was known for his size, shooting ability, and passing skills. He averaged 13 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game in his rookie season.
In terms of play style, the Brook Lopez we know today is more of a perimeter-oriented big man who uses his shooting ability to stretch the floor and create space for his teammates. He is also a good passer and can make plays from the high post. But once upon a time, Lopez was primarily a skilled post-scorer who could score with either hand. He had a variety of moves, including turnaround jumpers, hook shots, and drop steps. He was also a good passer out of the post, which allowed him to create opportunities for his teammates.
Timme, on the other hand, is also more of a traditional post scorer who uses his size and strength to score inside. He is also a good rebounder and defender.
Past Lopez, Timme can also look to model his game after the league’s remaining traditional big men like Nikola Vucevic, Domantas Sabonis, and even Kevin Love, who all share similar body types with him.
Vucevic is a skilled big man who can score inside and out. He’s not a great defender, but he’s a good rebounder and passer. Timme is similar to Vucevic in terms of his offensive skillset, as the two are excellent at using their stout frames to get good positioning in the low post. He’s a good scorer in the post and can also stretch the floor with his 3-point shooting. However, Timme is not as good of a defender as Vucevic.
Vucevic is a more traditional center who is known for his passing and shooting ability. He is a good rebounder and can also defend multiple positions.
Timme, on the other hand, is a more physical power forward who is an excellent post-scorer. He is also a good rebounder and defender.
Sabonis is another skilled big man who can score both in the interior and out on the perimeter. He’s also a good rebounder and passer and has grown into an excellent high-post playmaker throughout his tenure with the Sacramento Kings as of late. Timme is similar to Sabonis in terms of his versatility, as he can play both the power forward and center positions, and he can score from all over the court. However, Timme is not as good of a defender as Sabonis and, again, cannot shoot the three-ball all that well.
Kevin Love is also a versatile big man who can score from all over the court, rebound, and pass while also being an extremely capable interior defender despite his relative lack of agility compared to other players in his position.
However, these are all lofty comparisons, and it’s extremely unlikely that Timme will reach the level of these celebrated big men any time soon.
In this ideal scenario, Timme could learn to play more off the ball and become a catch-and-shoot threat from 3-point range. The Bucks have a number of guards who can create shots for others, and Timme could benefit from playing alongside them. By this point, he’ll have become a more versatile defender and guard multiple positions.
The thing is, the road here is murky at best. The one thing tying all these names together is that they’re accomplished “traditional” big men who have learned to integrate floor-spacing into their offensive arsenals and who have become much more complete players in the association.
We’ve yet to see the potential to do so from Timme, which is why the next few comparisons might make much more sense when attempting to project his career projections.
Realistic scenario for Milwaukee Bucks’ Drew Timme – Drew Eubanks
Traditional big men with no floor-spacing ability have become increasingly rare in the NBA in recent years. This is due to the rise of the 3-point shot and the increasing importance of spacing the floor on offense.
The rise of the 3-point shot has made it more difficult for traditional big men to score. If a big man can’t shoot threes, they are essentially a non-factor on offense when they are outside of 10 feet from the basket. This makes it difficult for them to space the floor and create opportunities for their teammates.
As it currently stands, Timme has more in common with the likes of Goga Bitadze than any of the names previously mentioned. Given some time to grow, there are still a few big men he can emulate if he has the work ethic for it.
For this writer, the closest realistic comparison is Drew Eubanks of the Phoenix Suns. Both players are skilled scorers in the post who can finish around the rim with either hand. They’re also good rebounders who have the size and strength to compete for rebounds on both ends of the court. But both players are not great shooters from the outside, with both shooting below 30 percent from 3-point range for their careers.
Yet despite that supposedly fatal flaw, Eubanks has very clearly carved out a name for himself with his grit and hustle. It’s this commitment to the intangibles that has seemingly set him apart from other big men in the league despite being relatively undersized for the position.
Eubanks had a solid season for the Portland Trail Blazers in 2022-23. He averaged 6.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game in 64 games, which are numbers that should not be too far from what Timme is capable of. Eubanks also shot 64.1 percent from the field, which was the best percentage of his career, to go with 70.9 percent from the free-throw line.
Blake Griffin is a 6-foot-10 power forward who is known for his athleticism and his ability to score in transition. He is also a good rebounder and defender who can leverage his size and physicality to create opportunities for himself and his teammates. Another example is LaMarcus Aldridge, a 6-foot-11 power forward who is known for his midrange shooting and his ability to score in the post. He is also a good rebounder and defender but made a living off his craftiness and consistency in the post.
Timme is similar to Aldridge in terms of his midrange shooting and his ability to score in the post, while he has demonstrated a bit of Griffin’s athleticism and ability to score in transition. The difference here is that Timme is not as skilled a 3-point shooter as Aldridge, nor does he have much (if any) of Griffin’s ball-handling.
The bright spot is that these things can be learned by big men even late into their careers, as shown by the evolution of players like Brook Lopez.
Floor scenario for Milwaukee Bucks’ Drew Timme – Score-first backup big man
While traditional big men with no floor-spacing ability are still a rarity in the NBA, they can still find success if they have other strengths that make up for their lack of shooting. For example, a big man who is an elite rebounder or shot blocker can still be a valuable player even if they can’t shoot threes.
As the game continues to evolve, it is likely that traditional big men with no floor-spacing ability will become even rarer. Teams are simply too focused on spacing the floor to give minutes to big men who can’t shoot threes, which also means that opportunities for Timme might grow increasingly limited the more the association settles into its 3-point revolution.
At his floor, Timme is still a very talented post scorer who’s able to use his size and skill to carve out space for himself to get off shots at the rim. Highlight clips paint a picture of a fundamental low-post scorer with a litany of post moves and hook shots to score against practically any defense you throw at him. Think very Brook Lopez without the floor-spacing and rim protection for this scenario — which is certainly not the worst outcome in the world for someone you snagged outside of the NBA Draft.
In this scenario, Timme plays himself into a 12th to 15th-man role in the league and is put on the floor to provide some scoring punch and slow the pace of the game down. Because of his deficiencies, he’s still a developmental prospect more than anything else, but the signs are more than promising. Think Sandro Mamukelashvili without the playmaking and floor spacing.
There are a number of skills Drew will have to work on before he can take a leap out of this “floor” scenario. For instance, Timme is a good shooter from midrange, but he needs to improve his 3-point shooting to be a more complete offensive player in the NBA. The Bucks have a number of good shooters who could help Timme develop his three-point shot.
He’s also a generally solid rebounder, interior defender, and shot blocker, but he needs to improve his lateral quickness and footwork to be a more effective defender on the perimeter. The Bucks have a number of good defenders who could help Timme improve his defense.
These specific holes in his game might hinder his ability to play in different lineups. The Bucks have a number of versatile players who can play multiple positions. Timme will need to learn how to play in different lineups and be effective in a variety of roles.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.