A Milwaukee Bucks-specific Big Board

There's lots of great NBA Draft content out there, but not much specifically tailored to the Bucks. Let's fix that.

There are lots of great big boards put together by NBA Draft experts covering 100 or more draft prospects, and there’s no way I can compete with any of those folks. They are experts who watch hundreds of prospects each year, often have intel from front offices, and really know their stuff. As someone who spends most of his time covering the Milwaukee Bucks (and now Brewers!), I simply cannot keep up with all of the prospects, nor do I really need to. 

Milwaukee picks 24th overall (if they actually keep it) this year, which means my paragraph on Chet Holmgren vs Jabari Smith or whatever is pretty pointless from a Bucks perspective. So I skipped it in lieu of a hyper specific Milwaukee Bucks Big Board. I selected 11 prospects who will all at least be potentially available after the first 23 picks are in, mostly by scanning who is given to the Bucks in mock drafts or who Bucks fans spend a lot of time talking about. 

To be somewhat scientific and not build up too much false hope, I excluded every player named in the top 14 from a selection of four big boards penned by the aforementioned draft experts. Those players and big boards are as follows:

Off-limits players: (Top 14 in ESPN, The Ringer, Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports)

Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith, Paolo Banchero, Jaden Ivey, Keegan Murray, Dyson Daniels, Shaedon Sharpe, Bennedict Mathurin, AJ Griffin, Jalen Duren, Johnny Davis, Ousmane Dieng, Malaki Branham, Mark Williams, Jeremy Sochan, TyTy Washington Jr, Ochai Agbaji

It’s certainly possible that one of those players falls to the Bucks given the randomness of the draft, but 8-10 spots is quite the drop and it’s also quite possible those are the first 17 names off the board in some order. 

One last thing before we get to the list: I’ve got Walker Kessler quite high. I’ll get into what I like about Kessler specifically, but I wanted to touch on having a “limited” big man as my second-ranked Bucks prospect this year. There has been a lot of push back for wanting a non-shooting big next to Giannis Antetokounmpo when the Bucks already have Brook Lopez, which is certainly a fair point. 

The Bucks could absolutely survive this season by merely signing a big man for the veteran minimum and hoping Lopez stays healthy, or at least is healthy by the playoffs. Some matchups will dictate that Milwaukee goes small with a power forward alongside Giannis, making the Bucks’ centers all less important. The logic for liking Kessler is not about one season, it’s about finding the future of the Bucks’ center position. I do not think Giannis should ever be Milwaukee’s starting center — Milwaukee’s drop coverage is dominant in the right match-ups, and conserving/enabling Giannis to thrive defensively by not asking him to play the 5 all the time is important. 

The reason for liking Kessler (and Christian Koloko to a lesser extent) is that Lopez is 34 years old and just missed most of a season after getting back surgery. He looked great upon his return, but as a true big man nearly 7 years older than Giannis, it’s an unfortunate reality that Lopez will not be the Bucks starting center forever. The DeMarcus Cousinses, Greg Monroes and Serge Ibakas of the world are back-ups and stand-ins, not featured starters. Finding a true big man who can anchor a drop defense is likely not as easy as signing somebody for the literal minimum amount possible, and in my opinion finding a great anchor is more precious than many seem to believe.

Getting a player who can truly step in for Lopez with the 24th pick in the draft, on a team-friendly contract for four years before entering team-friendly restricted free agency is an excellent result in my opinion. I feel better about a big man I can believe in than I do a wing with a sub-50% chance of being a good NBA player.

Okay, rant over, let’s get to the prospects. If you’d like to yell at me about this here’s where you can find me on Twitter -- I only ask that you at least subscribe to the Substack first so you’re ready the next time I unleash a bad take.

E.J. Liddell

E.J. Liddell’s calling card is that he is a good, strong defender. He has a questionable handle and shot, and it’s hard to envision exactly how he’d look offensively given how much work he did from the post in Ohio State. Liddell would form a monstrous mobile frontcourt alongside Giannis defensively though. 

I don’t think his game is especially P.J. Tucker-esque as Liddell plays bigger offensively and has more burst, but I think he could have that kind of impact as the power forward who enables lockdown smaller defensive lineups. He showed some good vision despite having a bad, basically 1, assist-to-turnover ratio. Liddell shoots these weird floaters from the post and even off drives that seem to work but don’t look like they would. The catch and shoot jumper developing further would be huge for him with the Bucks. Signs are good but he’s not a no-doubt shooter.

Still, being able to add a true 4/5 this late in the draft who does have some offensive skills (plus a ton of athleticism) is a no-brainer. Big wings are the most valuable commodities in basketball, and Liddell seems like he will earn minutes with his defensive chops right away, which is an important consideration on a Mike Budenholzer team.

Walker Kessler

Walker Kessler is HUGE. At 7’1”, 245 lbs with a 7’5” wingspan, he is a true big. His shot is a question mark as he was just 10/50 on threes this past season, but that’s more than Brook Lopez made across his first 8 NBA seasons combined. As long as he can get defenses to sort of respect his shot he can have the same gravity impact as Lopez, and I’m confident he can get at least that far.

Kessler is an excellent roll man who finishes strong thanks to his ridiculous size and length, and he had one of the best shot-blocking seasons in NCAA history with an absurd 4.6 blocks per game in just 25.6 minutes. It’s tempting to view his shot as his swing skill but I think it will be his switchability with the Bucks — mobility guarding smalls is his biggest question mark. Kessler struggles with guarding quicker players in space and can get a little too eager in his block attempts, although sometimes he does recover and manage the block even when beat.

Kessler’s free throw shooting is concerning as he’s been steadily in the 50s, which does not reflect kindly toward his shooting profile. Still, there is the making of a paint presence on Lopez’s level already, and Kessler gets the benefit of trying to be that player right away rather than having to transition after already playing out much of an NBA career as a post scorer.

Christian Braun

This is a lazy comp, but Christian Braun is literally mini Pat Connaughton. He’s an underrated defender and athlete, a strong catch and shoot player, and a weapon in transition. The tres leches memes would be fire, but this would be a strong fit pick, and it’s hard to have too many athletic wings with shooting range. Braun is 6’7” with a smooth stroke, although he will probably only be an off-ball player in the halfcourt and may struggle finishing through contact. 

Connaughton wasn’t a strong finisher either until the last year or so, and taking a similar player might be a smart bet given the immense strides Pat has made in Milwaukee. Braun is also a collegiate champion, begging a comparison to Donte DiVincenzo rather than Connaughton, and honestly if you told me the Bucks could take another shot at Donte’s career with the 24th pick I’d be pretty intrigued (although I do think Braun is closer to Connaughton as a prospect, with Grayson Allen’s hate-ability added in).

Kennedy Chandler

There aren’t a ton of strong point guard options in Milwaukee’s range — I think Kennedy Chandler is easily the best one. Chandler is a small 6’0” point guard but operates with a 6’5” wingspan that helps to nullify the size disadvantage. He would be the youngest player ever drafted by Jon Horst and the first to be younger than 20, as Chandler is 19 until September.

I had Chandler pretty low on my early list before digging into some film breakdowns (shoutout to The Box and One, their work is incredible and worth checking out). As a small guard he doesn’t seem like a typical Bucks fit, but his obvious skill changed my mind. Chandler is good at handling in pick-and-roll and getting to the paint plus finishing there at weird angles. He’s a solid shooter but a surprisingly bad pull-up three-point shooter, something that could move him from a solid back-up to a really intriguing player. Chandler’s on-ball defense is solid as he generates steals at a high clip and navigates screens and actions well. While he would give the Bucks some on the ball sauce they haven’t really had in a while, size is a clear limitation.

Tari Eason

Tari Eason will likely be higher than Braun on most boards. Despite his tantalizing potential given the pretty obvious Kawhi Leonard comps (even including having massive hands), nearly all of the wings who come out of the draft without a shot do not go on to be Finals MVPs who develop amazing shots.

Eason is a gritty defender but a questionable shooter. He would be the most athletic-high flying non-Giannis guy on the team pretty easily, but he plays smaller than Liddell and could struggle to fit on the wing rotation unless that jumper does indeed develop quickly. If the defensive acumen does translate he should get chances to play at least.

Christian Koloko

Where Kessler is a dominant drop defender, Christian Koloko is a good one who projects to be more switchable, if you ignore that he’s already 22 and is also a massive 7-plus footer. Koloko is a strong interior finisher, defender, and rebounder.

He is even less proven of a shooter than Kessler, as he’s 0/5 from 3 across three years at Arizona. Many mock drafts have Koloko going even later than 24 or in the second round, and I think I would rather see him as a Buck if the team trades down or otherwise somehow acquires a first round pick.

Jalen Williams

Jalen Williams is very intriguing based on his junior year, when he showcased good ball-handler and shooting skills from the 2/3 wing position. The 6’6” Williams doesn’t have a ton of burst off the dribble but can shoot and get to the rim, plus is a good catch and shoot player. 

Williams is a solid defender despite a lack of plus athleticism. I like the upside here, but he really exploded from sophomore to junior year — is the three-point shooting leap from 32% over his first two years to nearly 40% real? If it is then Williams could be a wing weapon, but if not it could be tough for him to carve out a real NBA role. That’s a dangerous gamble for the Bucks.

Dalen Terry

Dalen Terry is kind of a huge point guard, or more accurately seems to be one of those wings who can run some point and is just an okay shooter, but a good defender. Players like this are always intriguing, and Terry could be a strong addition to Milwaukee’s backcourt, but likely not for a year or two as his production wasn’t overly impressive in college. Terry would certainly benefit from hitting Milwaukee’s weight room with Giannis, as he’s wire-thin and needs some strength to hang if he’s going to be truly switchable.

MarJon Beauchamp

MarJon Beauchamp is bouncy and certainly an athletic wing player. He’s got the potential to develop as a creator down the line too — tantalizing potential, honestly. The problem for Milwaukee is Beauchamp as a shot-creating wing or even a three-and-D wing is purely theoretical right now as he shot well below average with the Ignite team and wasn’t on-ball a ton. The fit would likely be tricky early on unless he comes in as a much improved shooter, which could result in yet another intriguing Bucks wing who never actually gets runway to improve while he’s on the team.

Nikola Jovic

The year of lazy but somewhat useful comps continues, as like the similarly named Nikola Jokic, Nikola Jovic is a great passer for his size who functionals as essentially a 6’10” point forward. The issue for the Bucks is they just drafted a player like this in Sandro Mamukelashvili, and this town simply ain’t big enough for the both of them. Also, Jovic doesn’t seem ready to step into rotation minutes and thus likely is not a good fit for Milwaukee, especially with some defensive issues. The upside is there and Jovic is likely a better prospect than Mamu, but with fit issues there should be better options for Milwaukee.

Patrick Baldwin Jr.

Where Beauchamp was mostly theoretical, Patrick Baldwin Jr. is entirely theoretical, which is the kind of prospect who the Bucks cannot really afford to take. Milwaukee has had the most success developing players who can step into minutes. Baldwin Jr. has some traits that indicate he could be great but has not put it together by any means. A mix of injury history, questionable athleticism, and poor shooting in college mean it's a no from me. 

Apologies if I didn’t cover your favorite Bucks prospect here — if there is lots of feedback about a certain player I will try to add them before the draft on Thursday, June 23. Thanks for reading, and feel free to share any feedback with me on Twitter or in the comments below.