Nate Ament is one of the most boom or bust prospects in this coming NBA Draft.
Scouts and fans alike have known this. Ament sports elite measurables and positional versatility and has more than enough highlights to attest to his high ceiling. But draft experts have long cautioned front offices over his slender frame and lack of strength. Simply put, Ament is a player whose NBA career could go any way, which is perhaps what has made him so tantalizing compared to his more established counterparts in this draft class.
And that's exactly why it has raised more than a few eyebrows that general manager Jon Horst, head coach Taylor Jenkins, and others in the Bucks front office traveled all the way to New York to visit Nate Ament in person during the pre-draft process, according to the latest reporting by NBA insider Jake Fischer over on The Stein Line Substack (subscription required).
The Bucks appear positioned to take a chance on another lanky forward
Ament put up 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game during his lone freshman season with Tennessee. The 6-foot-10 forward started all 35 games for the Volunteers, helping guide the team to an Elite Eight appearance before declaring for the draft.
As of this writing, he is projected to be selected anywhere from the late lottery to the middle of the first round, with a heavy consensus pointing toward him going in the No. 6 to No. 15 range. Assuming the Bucks are able to net the 13th overall pick from Miami in a possible Antetokounmpo trade, they may have as many as three opportunities to select Ament in this upcoming draft.
Both CBS Sports and ESPN have already slotted Ament as a primary fit for the Bucks in their respective mock drafts. But that's not the only reason this writer sees him potentially going to Milwaukee.
"Now the Bucks are being looked at by some rival teams as the absolute floor for the Tennessee forward...To that end, league sources say, Ament has decided not to work out for the Warriors, who hold the No. 11 pick," Fischer wrote.
Jon Horst and his front office are no strangers to taking wild risks and drafting based on upside. From Thon Maker to AJ Johnson, they've always been the type to bet on potential that other teams might not see, rather than taking the obvious choices in front of them. It's what got the team Giannis Antetokounmpo, after all.
Even outside of the drafting and scouting process, they've shown they're willing to take any risk in the name of winning. Overpaying for Jae Crowder, selling the farm for Damian Lillard, and then waiving Lillard for Myles Turner are just a few examples that come to mind.
The Bucks’ latest draft move may reveal larger plans
This might also signal that something bigger is coming, which is something we've already known about for quite some time. A team that only holds the tenth overall pick as of this writing doesn't visit Ament unless they think their timeline and store of draft picks is changing.
Visiting a player of Ament's caliber only gives more credence to the already widely held belief that a roster turnover is forthcoming and that developmental minutes are soon opening in Taylor Jenkins' rotation.
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