The 2024 NBA Draft, in which the Milwaukee Bucks selected guard AJ Johnson, will haunt the team for a long time. Kyshawn George, a player Milwaukee seemingly had on its radar but passed on, is having a hot start to his third season. Looking like a budding star in the making, passing on Johnson looks like one of the Bucks' worst moves of the entire decade.
Bucks liked George, making this all worse
It's very easy to play the hindsight game. Why did two teams pass on Michael Jordan? Why did Kobe Bryant go 13th? Teams pass on talented players all the time.
However, the Milwaukee Bucks passing on Johnson is particularly painful because they reportedly liked what they saw from him pre-draft. On a past episode of The Old Man and the Three podcast, George revealed that Milwaukee gave him great feedback after an individual workout and thought they were his floor in terms of draft position. They passed, and he went one pick later.
The results have been tough to stomach for the Bucks. It's still early, but George has looked excellent this season, averaging 17.3 points, 4.9 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 51.5 percent from the floor. George is on the rise, playing incredibly well for a Wizards team that has a boatload of talent. All because Milwaukee gave them the opportunity.
Johnson just wasn't the right pick for Bucks
It would have been justifiable to pass on George if the Milwaukee Bucks had gone for someone like Ryan Dunn or Terrence Shannon Jr. Both were more experienced college players who would have offered a more polished piece to help Milwaukee's contending aspirations. George had just one year of college under his belt and likely needed some time to sharpen his game.
Instead, they baffingly bet on upside and selected Johnson, one of the rawest prospects in the entire NBA Draft. It was clear he would need years before being a rotational player. Twisting the knife further, Johnson didn't even last a full season in Milwaukee, landing in, ironically, Washington in the trade that brought Kyle Kuzma to the Bucks.
Following stints with Milwaukee and Washington, Johnson has lacked stability, being traded to Dallas and Memphis and could find himself out of New Orleans at any moment. All in three seasons.
There's no telling if Kyshawn George would have developed into the same player had he been drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks. How much faith is an individual supposed to have in Doc Rivers developing a young prospect? Still, the thought of possibly having the player currently lighting it up in Washington hurts, especially with the losses piling up lately.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.
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