Even Bucks' draft busts are rubbing salt in Milwaukee's wounds this season

The Milwaukee Bucks' deflating season continued Saturday with yet another blowout loss, a 122-99 throttling at the hands of Atlanta that marked their eighth defeat in nine games. Those Play-In hopes? Dashed. 

As if the team's implosion wasn't demoralizing enough, the Bucks had the pleasure of seeing a former first-round cast-out, MarJon Beauchamp, go off for his best game since his rookie season. It's not that fans begrudge him that recent 17-point outing for the Philadelphia 76ers, in Thursday's game against Detroit. On the contrary, they're rooting for him. 

But as the current roster struggles, it only adds insult to injury to look up and see "MarJon Beauchamp" and "17 points" in the same sentence. Yes, it's really that miserable in Milwaukee right now.

Beauchamp is balling out while Bucks sink deeper into the mire

Drafted 24th overall by the Bucks in 2022, Beauchamp never found his footing with the franchise. At the 2025 trade deadline, the team flipped him to the Clippers for Kevin Porter Jr., a move that has turned out to be a home-run success. 

Beauchamp has floated around the league since then, most recently signing a two-way deal with Philadelphia. He's only played five games all season, but he hasn't been half bad. The 6-foot-7 forward has scored at least eight points on four occasions. 

Against the Pistons, he went 7-for-13 from the field and contributed six rebounds plus two assists. He wasn't able to reproduce that outcome versus Brooklyn, though he came away with two steals, three boards, and three points in limited minutes. The victory was Philadelphia's 36th of the year.

For the Bucks, winning is a distant feeling. At 27-39, a separate reality away from the Play-In field, the writing is on the wall. Their season is over. 

Picking out positives is difficult right now in Milwaukee 

There are things to look forward to in the Milwaukee Bucks' future. Ryan Rollins is a budding star. Ousmane Dieng is intriguing. Jericho Sims looks like a key member of the bench mob. 

On a gloomier note, Cam Thomas hasn't done much of anything after exploding for 34 points in his second game. He followed up with 27 in the first game out of the All-Star break. Since clipping double digits in four straight appearances, however, he has done so just three times in his last 11. The Thomas experience fizzled to its lowest point yet when he played three minutes against the Hawks.

This Bucks team is depressing to watch. As the season festers, catching even the most impertinent of incidents around the league, like Beauchamp's three-year scoring high, feels like an ironic jab at the dismal state of affairs in Milwaukee.