A Highly Condensed 2022 NBA G League Draft Board
Ranking some old friends and noteworthy players ahead of the Wisconsin Herd using two first round picks today.
The 2022 NBA G League draft is at Noon today (Saturday, October 22)! The G League Draft is not as important to roster construction as most sports league drafts are, given teams acquire key players by trading for their rights and getting affiliate and two-way players from their NBA club, but it’s still an opportunity to add talent.
There are 128 players eligible to be picked today — here is a full list. I picked out 8 that caught my eye either through a connection to the Milwaukee Bucks/Wisconsin Herd or simply recognizing them as a former NBA player and ranked/tiered them based on who I think would be the best pick for Wisconsin.
I won’t pretend to be nearly enough of an NBA Draft or NCAA expert to be familiar with the majority of the draft-eligible players here, so if you notice anyone who deserves consideration for this list feel free to drop a comment here or let me know on Twitter.
Last note before the draft board: the Herd currently hold the second and 23rd overall pick, plus the 23rd pick in the third round. Trades are very common, as is simply forgoing picks altogether in the later rounds, but it seems likely the Herd will walk away with at least one key player whether its via trading or using that second overall selection.
Tier 1 - Prospects with Upside
1. Joe Wieskamp
Joe Wieskamp was selected 41st overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2021 NBA Draft and will surely go higher than that in the 2022 G League Draft. He didn’t get many opportunities to play with the NBA Spurs but did average 17 points per game with the Austin Spurs last season, and seemed close to making San Antonio’s final roster before ultimately missing the cut. At just 23 years old, Wieskamp is a worthy flier for any G League team to bring in who still has NBA upside.
2. Rashad Vaughn
As a 17th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2015, Rashad Vaughn is actually the highest touted NBA prospect on this list. Unfortunately as Bucks fans probably remember, draft night and Summer League ended up being the highlights of Vaughn’s Bucks tenure, as he never averaged more than 3.5 points per game and didn’t make it through his third season before bouncing around to the Nets and Magic, and ultimately out of the NBA. Vaughn played 51 games with two G League teams in 2018-19 and averaged 15.5 points, and has shot well from three overall in his G League career, meaning he figures as a potent wing scorer at this level. Vaughn has played in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, and Greece since leaving the G League in 2019. Somehow, Vaughn is actually younger than Sam Merrill, the next player on this list — Vaughn turned 26 years old in August 2022.
3. Sam Merrill
Any Bucks fans who have followed the team for longer than a year or so surely are familiar with Sam Merrill, the Bucks 60th overall pick in 2020 who surprisingly was a pretty capable NBA player across his 36 total games with Milwaukee and Memphis, including a 15-point performance in less than 20 minutes with the Bucks in March 2021. Merrill’s NBA box score numbers aren’t overwhelmingly impressive, but he can shoot, score, and handle the ball and would surely help the Herd all season long.
4. Demetrius Jackson
Those deep into NBA Draft scouting may remember Demetrius Jackson, a point guard prospect from Notre Dame who ultimately fell to 45th overall in 2016, prompting a few “No way the Celtics got HIM, THERE” takes that ultimately didn’t age well. He had a few cups of NBA coffee between 2016 and 2019 but none since, although he has put together some explosive G League seasons including averaging 19.4 points and 7.4 assists in 8 games with the Delaware Blue Coats in 2018-19. The swing skills for Jackson will be limiting turnovers (he had nearly 4 per game that season) and hitting threes, which he hasn’t gone at a plus clip outside of a four-game stint with the South Bay Lakers in 2019-20.
Tier 2 - Norris Cole
5. Norris Cole
Certainly the highest profile player on this list, Norris Cole was drafted in the first round back in 2011 and played in 7 NBA seasons since then, including a 10/3/3 points/rebounds/assists per game campaign with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2015-16. The problem is we haven’t seen Cole in the NBA or G League since then outside of just 13 games in OKC the next season, 2016-17. Now 34, after trips across the world to play pretty much everywhere (Israel, Spain, France, Italy, and Montenegro), it’s hard to say if Cole is still NBA level or not. The upside is there, but I don’t see him as a lock to go at the top of the draft.
Tier 3 - Herd Alumni
6. Shannon Bogues
I am a true blue Shannon Bogues believer, but ultimately felt I couldn’t put him higher on this list given his lack of efficient shooting in the G League. Bogues scored 10 points per game with the Herd mostly in a sixth man role in 2019-20, but shot 26.8 percent from three that season and just 22.2 percent in eight games during the 2021-22 Capital City Go-Go season. I think Bogues’ burst is real and being back with the Herd may help him develop the rest of his game, but he’ll need to either up his playmaking chops or his shooting to make a push to be a true starter in the G League.
7. Brandon McCoy
Herd fans will remember Brandon McCoy, who is near the top of the list of total games played by any Herd player: he’s logged 67 across two seasons between 2018 and 2020. One of the youngest players in the G League his first season, McCoy was a developmental center prospect who averaged 7 points and rebounds in his last G League season before departing the US to play in Serbia, Puerto Rico, and Belgium over the last few years. McCoy seemed like a good presence and would certainly bolster center depth on the Herd if he’s selected.
8. Vander Blue
Marquette’s own Vander Blue is a certified G League legend, but unfortunately has struggled to score efficiently over his last three G League seasons. Blue is chasing the all-time G League scoring record currently held by Renaldo Major and it’d be fun to see him do it, but there are better guard options out there for teams in this draft. I’ll add the caveat that if teams have intel that Blue had been hampered by injuries and feels/looks healthier now I would move him up the list, but based on what we’ve seen his ability to effectively get buckets has declined in recent years.