The Milwaukee Bucks traded failed draft pick MarJon Beauchamp to the Los Angeles Clippers in return for journeyman guard Kevin Porter Jr. That trade has been a runaway success for the Bucks, and they have continued to win as Beauchamp has struggled to find a home just as Porter has moved into his.
There are many fingers to point in assigning blame for the deconstruction of the Bucks' championship team. Age. Injury. Trades. On the list near the top has to be a complete and utter inability to improve the team via the NBA Draft.
The Bucks failed in the Draft
The Bucks certainly traded away as many picks as they could in pursuit of the best roster around Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the league's rules don't allow them to completely avoid the draft altogether. Every other year, they went into the draft with a first-round pick, and occasionally, they found a second-round pick lying around.
Essentially each and every time they completely botched the pick, taking projects and busts and not finding a single rotation player from the bunch. That group is headlined by MarJon Beauchamp, a Washington state native who entered the league as a lanky bundle of potential.
The Bucks failed to tap into that potential, and three seasons in he had failed to become a reliable player. That was when they traded him to the Clippers in an attempted "second draft" situation, with LA taking a shot that they could get something out of him in a new place. In exchange, the Bucks got back Kevin Porter Jr.
Kevin Porter Jr. has blossomed in Milwaukee
Porter was a guard with no shortage of fits and stops in his career, either. A Washington native himself, Porter clashed with coaches in college at USC and as a rookie in Cleveland, so much so that they traded him for nothing after one year. In Houston he blossomed into a high-impact guard, but then got embroiled in off-court issues and domestic abuse charges that washed him out of the league.
After a year away from the league, Porter made his way back with the Clippers, and they sent him to Milwaukee to see if he could fully recover his lost career. He has done that and more, taking advantage of the opportunity to find a new home in the NBA.
Porter Jr. is a scoring machine who has always been underrated as a passer and rebounder, and while this last season was beset with injuries, when he did play, he started and put up solid numbers. As the Bucks figure out their future this summer, Porter has earned a part in it alongside other finds like A.J. Green and Ryan Rollins.
Beauchamp is still without a home
MarJon Beauchamp, however, has not found that home. The Clippers waived him just weeks after he arrived, and he has since bounced around on two-way contracts and training camp deals with the Knicks, the Trail Blazers and the 76ers.
Beauchamp spent the last few months on a two-way deal in Philadelphia and played in 14 games as a deep, deep reserve. He has a relentless athleticism attacking the rim but otherwise is something of a mess on the court even still, undisciplined on defense and a turnover machine on offense. Whatever potential was there has failed to emerge.
His two-way eligibility will expire this season, and it's unlikely he gets a real contract based on his play thus far. He will need to continue his career in the G League or overseas to try and earn a spot back in the NBA. His long-term home has not yet been found.
For the Bucks, they won the trade going away. And as Beauchamp moves on, it only solidifies their victory.
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