At least two of the prospects the Milwaukee Bucks visited at the NBA Draft Combine are not realistic targets. Equipped with the 10th overall pick, the Bucks won't have a chance on draft night to select either Darius Acuff Jr. or Keaton Wagler. Both are expected to be top six picks. Even if they slip a spot or two, neither will make it to Milwaukee.
The Bucks could only get in the game by trading Giannis Antetokounmpo to move up in the draft. That's the bleak reality of their situation. Otherwise, cross Acuff and Wagler off the list.
Acuff, Wagler lie outside the Bucks' draft range
NBA scouts and draft analysts are high on those two for a reason. After Kansas's Darryn Peterson, they are the top guards in this year's class.Â
Acuff led the SEC in scoring with 23.5 points per game and only got better as the year wore on. The Arkansas freshman averaged 6.4 assists compared to just 2.2 turnovers and drained threes at a 44 percent clip. Whoever lands Acuff will be getting a future star on the offensive side of the ball.
Wagler is a do-it-all point guard in a wing's body, which makes him a tantalizing prospect in the modern NBA. At 6-foot-6, he is an excellent rebounder for his position and can rise up over opposing guards to get clean looks. His stats as a freshman at Illinois last season: 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.2 assists on 39.7 percent shooting from deep.Â
Of course, the Bucks still have enticing options at No. 10, such as Arizona guard Brayden Burries. Most fans would be just fine with that selection.
The reality, though, is that Acuff and Wagler are a tier above the prospects Milwaukee can expect to consider at 10th overall. Interviewing them at the combine is nice, but it won't matter if the Bucks stay put.
Giannis trade provides only realistic path for Milwaukee to move upÂ
Does that mean they should rush to the window to punch the Giannis trade ticket? Of course not. But if a trade becomes inevitable and general manager Jon Horst wants to move up in the 2026 draft, dealing Antetokounmpo is how that happens.Â
Among teams with a top-six pick, only one has been linked as a potential suitor. That would be the Brooklyn Nets, owners of the No. 6 selection this year. Packaging that pick in a Giannis deal would all but guarantee the Bucks one of Acuff or Wagler. Not a bad way to kick off a retooling period.Â
A deal with the Nets, however, is not what most Milwaukee fans want to see. The overall package of prospects isn't good enough, and Giannis would end up on a barren wasteland of a roster.Â
However, a trade involving a top six team - the Nets, Clippers, Bulls, Grizzlies, Jazz, or, yes, even the Wizards at No. 1 overall - is also the only foreseeable way the Bucks snag an elite prospect in the 2026 draft. Until further notice, count those meetings with Acuff and Wagler as window-shopping only.
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