Bucks may have sights set on a guard in NBA draft

By GERY WOELFEL
The importance of this week’s NBA draft for the Milwaukee Bucks can’t be understated.
It is, unequivocally, one of the most important drafts in franchise history.
With star Giannis Antetokounmpo inevitably moving on and with the Bucks in a full-throttle rebuild, the Bucks can ill afford to botch their pick/picks in the draft, which commences Tuesday night with round one and finishes Wednesday with round two.
Fortunately, the Bucks have a lottery selection — the 10th overall pick — in one of the better drafts in recent years.
Based on conversations with multiple NBA officials, including scouts and player personnel folks, there is seemingly three tiers of lottery prospects.
Tier I includes:
— Forward AJ Dybantsa of BYU.
— Combo guard Darryn Peterson of Kansas.
— Power forward Cameron Boozer of Duke
— Power forward Caleb Wilson of North Carolina.
Tier II of the lottery prospects include:
— Point guard Darius Acuff Jr. of Arkansas.
— Point guard Mikel Brown Jr. of Louisville.
— Combo guard Keaton Wagler of Illinois.
— Point guard Kingston Flemings of Houston.
Tier III of the lottery prospects include:
— Center Aday Mara of Michigan.
— Shooting guard Brayden Burries of Arizona.
— Combo forward Nate Ament of Tennessee.
— Forward Lendeborg of Michigan.
— Forward Karim Lopez of New Zealand.
— Forward/Center Hannes Steinbach of Washington.
Of the NBA officials I interviewed for this story, all contend the Bucks have a miniscule chance of getting any of the top II tier players. Nevertheless, the Bucks have explored ways to move up in the draft to acquire one of them, specifically Acuff and Brown.
They recently traveled to Orlando to get an up-close-and-personal look at Brown and brought Acuff Jr., to Milwaukee several weeks ago for a workout.
The Brooklyn Nets have the sixth pick and there has been speculation they are big fans of Ament. Could they swap picks with the Bucks and get Ament at 10 — along with a player from the Bucks — allowing the Bucks to land Brown or Acuff Jr.?
The Clippers, who have the fifth pick, have also indicated an interest in moving back and acquiring a later lottery pick and a veteran player to complement Kawhi Leonard and Darius Garland.
If the Bucks fail in their attempts to acquire a top 6 pick, and none of the top II tier players slip to them, they’re going to face a tough decision.
Here are my thoughts on those six Tier III players:
— Mara is an extremely intriguing prospect; he is a highly skilled big man who has a chance to become one of the best centers in the league.
— Burries is probably the safest pick in this tier of players, possessing a rock-solid all-around game. But the odds of him ever being a prolific scorer at the next level are slim.
Burries’ offensive weaknesses were clearly exposed in Arizona’s last two NCAA Tournament games last season.
He managed just 13 points against Michigan and totaled 14 points against Purdue. He shot 4 of 16 from the field vs. Michigan and 4 of 10 vs. Purdue.
— Ament would be my last choice of the Tier III players. Yes, he’s got some enticing traits to his game like his agility for a 6-10 forward and a penchant for drawing fouls.
But, in the NBA these days, you better be a high-level shooter. Ament isn’t close to it. At least, he wasn’t at Tennessee last season.
Ament shot an unacceptable 39 percent from the field and a sub-par 33 percent from 3-point range.
— Lendeborg has a complete game; good in most aspects but not great in any specific area. I envision him becoming a quality starter, but not never a guy who would be a team’s No. 2 player, much less No. 1.
— Lopez is perhaps the most mysterious prospect in the draft. He could be very good and he could also be average.
He is a proficient shooter and shot the lights out in a workout for an Eastern Conference team, but his lack of athleticism has to be a concern.
— Steinbach, in my opinion, is one of the most underrated player nit he draft. The 6-10 German enjoyed a fabulous freshman season, averaging 18.5 points and 11.8 rebounds. The latter number led the nation.
Steinbach showed continual improvement as well, scoring 20 or more points in six of the last eight games. Also, in his last six games, he grabbed at least 11 rebounds in each of them.
While the aforementioned 14 players were the consensus lottery picks of the NBA personnel I contacted, there’s one other player to keep an eye on for the Bucks;
Labaron Philon.
In most drafts, Philon would probably be a Top 7 selection. But this draft is saturated with high-end guards, pushing him down the draft chart.
But Philon has the potential to be an elite scorer in the NBA, just like he was with the Crimson Tide last season. He averaged 22 points, an impressive jump from the 10.8 points he averaged the season before as a freshman.
Philon’s forte is scoring abilities. His scoring prowess was on full display in the NCAA Tournament. He carved up eventual national champion Michigan with 35 points (and 7 rebounds to boot) and had 29 points against Hofstra.
Philon has his skeptics, though. Some NBA people contend he can be somewhat selfish on the court and question his maturity off it.
But there’s no denying Philon’s talent. And, when a team is picking at 10 and in a situation like the transitioning Bucks, it might be extremely difficult to pass on him.