Milwaukee Bucks rookies Brayden Burries and Nate Ament have shown brilliant flashes in Summer League so far as to what the team can expect from them over the coming years. One forgotten player from draft night is Malique Lewis, acquired with the 60th pick via a trade. Having struggled to make any sort of impression, the writing is on the wall for the forward.
Malique Lewis struggling to impact Bucks Summer League
It was an incredibly low-risk move by the front office with the team to send cash considerations to Orlando, but Jon Horst and co must have seen something in Lewis to trade back into the draft to select him.
Drafted out of the South East Melbourne Phoenix in the Australian National Basketball League, Lewis averaged 7.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and two assists per game. He is most often seen as a 3-and-D small forward, hitting 38 percent of his shots from deep last season and notching a steal per game.
However, that just hasn't been the case for him in Summer League. Across the four games over various sites, he is averaging just 4.8 points and 3.2 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game. His 29.4 percent shooting from the field and 25 percent from 3-point range have not helped, as he saw just 48 seconds in the recent win over the Hornets.
With the 60th pick, it was always going to be a low-risk pick, but right now it feels that, at best, he'll be on the Wisconsin Herd rather than a two-way contract.
Other Bucks forwards overshadowing Lewis
Ament is the clear standout. After a slow start, he has started to find his aggression on offense. In terms of other wings, Brandon Boston Jr. has previous NBA experience, and you can tell from his performances. Zack Austin is also impressing with his energy. These players are just burying Lewis further down on the depth chart.
The Bucks made a quick move to sign Kam Jones to a two-way while retaining Cormac Ryan, so they have a spot open in that regard, but they might look to fill it with someone contributing more. This makes it difficult for the Bucks to find any room for Lewis to break through.
Summer League should always be taken with a grain of salt, as players develop at different paces, but the Bucks are still waiting to feel vindicated for their decision to trade into the draft and get Lewis. Right now, he just doesn't look at the level to contribute, and so will likely find himself with the Herd or perhaps heading overseas.
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