Leaf sees fit with Bucks
Team speaks to UCLA forward
CHICAGO — One of the biggest perks for teams during the NBA draft combine is the opportunity to speak with up to 15 prospects. Some liken it to speed dating, but it’s a chance to either bolster an existing relationship or set a foundation before inviting individual players for workouts.
The Milwaukee Bucks have already conducted many of their player interviews at the combine. Those included talking with former UCLA forward T.J. Leaf, who declared for the draft and hired an agent after one season with the Bruins, on Thursday morning.
“They have a very talented team — you saw it this year, (Malcolm) Brogdon came on strong,” said Leaf, a 6foot-10, 222-pound forward. “Of course, you have Giannis (Antetokounmpo), a guy who can really push the pace and be a point forward for them. And then when Jabari (Parker) gets back healthy I think they have as good a team as anyone in the East.
“I’d love to be in Milwaukee, it’s a great place and that new stadium’s coming in, I believe, two years. It would be a great spot. I could fit in really well with Jabari and Giannis, just in that front court pushing the ball and scoring and being a playmaker.”
The Bucks also have spoken with Oregon’s Dillon Brooks, Creighton’s Justin Patton, North Carolina’s Tony Bradley and California’s Ivan Rabb, among others.
Rabb shares a connection with Jason Kidd as each spent time playing at California. Kidd was not at Rabb’s interview on Wednesday, but Rabb mentioned that he admires the Bucks’ coach for what he did at Cal and in the NBA. As a whole, he thought his time with the Bucks went well and believes he would fit well in Milwaukee.
“I was impressed with them and they told me they were impressed with me, too,” said Rabb, a 6-foot-10, 220-pound forward. “(On Milwaukee) I see several bigs who just all play with tenacity, they play hard, they’re all long and athletic, but they’re skilled, too. I feel I can fit right in with them.”
Three players who did not meet with the Bucks mentioned that they would be working out in Milwaukee in the upcoming weeks. Florida big man Devin Robinson is scheduled to participate in a workout on Wednesday, Kansas State forward Wesley Iwundu will work out on Wednesday or Thursday and Kansas guard Frank Mason III — the player of the year in college — will work out with the Bucks on May 22.
The next Maker? Last year, Thon Maker took an unorthodox route to the NBA.
To skip a year of college, Maker had to convince the NBA he graduated from Orangeville Prep in 2015. He successfully did so, proving he graduated from high school in June 2015 but stayed another year as a post-graduate student. By doing that, Maker fulfilled the NBA requirements on minimum age and one year removed from high school.
This year, Kentucky guard Hamidou Diallo is taking a different, but equally interesting route to possibly making the jump to the NBA. Diallo enrolled at Kentucky in January and never played a game. Since he turns 19 later this year and is one year removed, he’s allowed to enter the draft if he so chooses as a “none-and-done.”
“I definitely see what Thon Maker did and what he did was really clever and really smart for him,” said Diallo, a 6foot-5, 197-pound wing. “He’s having a great career in the NBA right now. I’m just happy for him.”
Diallo, who has not hired an agent and proclaims to be totally open to staying in the draft or returning to Kentucky, did not participate in five-on-five or shooting drills. He did, however, post the best max vertical leap at 44.5 inches — three inches better than Robinson, who was in second. Reaction to Durant: On Thursday morning, ESPN reported that Kevin Durant’s advice for the latest crop of NBA prospects was for them — especially the top players — to stay home.
His experience 10 years ago before going No. 2 in the draft wasn’t a pleasant one. Durant said the strength coaches laughed at him as he failed to bench press 185 pounds, something that has nothing to do with basketball talent or skill.
Multiple prospects were asked about Durant’s opinion, including North Carolina’s Justin Jackson.
“That’s KD,” Jackson said. “He can say pretty much whatever he wants. I’m a guy trying to get to that league, so I’m going to do whatever they ask us to do, whatever we need to do. Does all this stuff translate? Maybe not, but at the end of the day, this is what they asked us to do, so that’s what we’re going to do.”
Bucks promotion: On Thursday, the Bucks promoted Deb Logan to vice president of corporate partnerships for the franchise’s new D-League affiliate in Oshkosh. Her previous role had been as the Bucks’ senior director of partnership sales.
In her new role, Logan will oversee all aspects of the new team’s corporate outreach, including growing the team’s corporate base and managing and activating the partner accounts as it prepares for its inaugural season.