The Bucks haven't hit on a draft pick in a long time, and this latest news doesn't help. Two years after being drafted, Chris Livingston's Milwaukee Bucks era is over. To make room on an overcrowded roster, the team has reportedly waived him once again, for real this time.
They gave Livingston a second chance earlier this summer, re-signing him to a one-year guaranteed deal after waiving him on July 2, but he simply didn't show enough in training camp to beat out his Bucks teammates for a roster spot. Now, the former Kentucky Wildcat will have to put down roots elsewhere.
Livingston the latest casualty in long line of busted picks
The Bucks selected Livingston 58th overall as the last pick in the 2023 draft, taking a swing on a Kentucky freshman with promising size and strength as a wing. He played sparingly as a rookie and again in his second season, failing to make hoped-for strides. While he put up impressive G League numbers and dominated again in Summer League, his physical tools failed to translate in the NBA.
Livingston joins a long list of unsuccessful Bucks draft picks. AJ Johnson, taken 23rd in 2024, didn't last a season before being traded to the Wizards. After his Bucks career never got going, the team flipped MarJon Beauchamp (24th, 2022) for Kevin Porter Jr. last trade deadline. Tyler Smith, their other pick in '24, looks increasingly like the other inevitable roster cut the Bucks will make before this season. Sandro Mamukelashvili, Sam Merrill, Jordan Nwora - all discarded.
Ironically, you have to go back to 2019, when the Bucks took Porter, to find a draft pick poised to make an impact. It hasn't been good.
Three months removed from his new contract, that Livingston preceded Smith is somewhat surprising. Despite a decent showing in two preseason games, he logged DNPs along with Smith in the final pair of contests. Part of the problem, one that resurfaced again in the preseason, is that his position fit remains murky. Needing to whittle down to a 15-man roster, the Bucks didn't have room to accommodate someone without a clear role on the team.
How were they fooled by Summer League again? His physicality helps him play bully ball against smaller, inexperienced players, like recent draft picks and G Leaguers typically playing in summer games. In game two of the preseason, Livingston bodied his way to 10 free-throw attempts. Against real NBA competition, though, his brute strength does not have the same impact.
Not that long ago, Livingston's roster spot seemed secure. Then the Bucks added Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Amir Coffey. Like most competitive teams, they value fit over raw talent, and guys like Andre Jackson Jr. have stepped up in both tangible and intangible ways in training camp. Jackson has his issues, but the Bucks know they can call on him here and there for five minutes of tight defense and frisky playmaking.
Coffey, at one point another candidate to be cut, has played his way into favor and has all but reserved his place in the rotation. As a veteran wing with a knack for being in the right place at the right time, he has a clear role. The Bucks don't know what to do with Livingston, and it's what ultimately cut short his time in Milwaukee.