New GM Horst playing long game with draft
Picks must fit with future vision
The pre-draft workouts are over. After 15 dates with 86 players coming through — not to mention numerous trips to agency workouts — the Milwaukee Bucks have seen all the players they are going to see ahead of the NBA draft on Thursday night at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
Jon Horst might still be in his first week as the team’s new general manager, but he’s been involved in the 2017 pre-draft process since the Bucks started preparing about a year ago. He knows that the decision will come down to him and believes he will be ready to make the right calls.
“We feel very prepared for 17 and 48 for this draft,” Horst said Tuesday, referencing the team’s two draft picks. “We’ll have a crystal clear board (Thursday), a draft plan with every draft trade-up scenario, every
draft trade-down scenario, our groupings, where they break, which range we would trade to, which range we wouldn’t, who has medical red flags, who has character red flags, et cetera, et cetera.
“That plan is crystal clear — it has to be because the amount of stuff that comes at you throughout the process can be overwhelming if you don’t have that plan clear.”
While the Bucks have the look of a team on the rise in the Eastern Conference, Horst isn’t exactly looking for players he can plug into the roster to make an impact from Day 1. He’s interested more in continuing the building process the Bucks have been undergoing for the past few seasons.
“It’s just important that the long view of this draft pick that that person will be part of a championship-contending team for the long haul,” Horst said. “So if they can contribute this year, great, but ultimately we’re trying to find someone that can contribute long-term to this team.”
Horst’s long view also extends to his philosophy on roster construction. With Tony Snell’s restricted free agency and player-option decisions on the horizon for centers Greg Monroe and Spencer Hawes, Horst and the Bucks have key decisions to make as to how they’re going to build their roster for 2017-’18 and beyond.
But those decisions and implications that come with them aren’t necessarily going to have an impact on whom the Bucks select. Monroe’s choice carries the biggest price tag at about $17.9 million for next season and could create a logjam in the Bucks’ frontcourt if he opts in — especially if Hawes does, too. According to Horst, Monroe’s decision “won’t affect our draft.”
“I don’t think that we’re going to make our drafting decision based on our roster as it stands currently today,” Horst said. “This is a longterm plan to draft someone that can fit with this team long term.”
Finding that right player is a difficult proposition for every team. Milwaukee faced some unique challenges in their preparations this year as their front-office has been in flux for much of the past month.
The departure of John Hammond for the Orlando Magic came at about the time the Bucks were about to hit the road for a series of agency workouts. Horst and vice president of scouting Billy McKinney have said the three weeks between workouts were not a result of the front-office change.
On Tuesday Horst noted that he did not believe that any prospects skipped Milwaukee because of the frontoffice instability. He believes the Bucks saw everyone they wanted and said it is likely Milwaukee will make their picks from the players who came for workouts.
“I think it would be hard,” Horst said when asked about the likelihood of the Bucks picking a player who didn’t work out for them. “That would be hard, not impossible. It depends on you don’t know who is going to fall in the draft, the level of talent. Again, that’s where the groupings and draft plan come into order.”
When it comes to the qualities the Bucks are looking for, head coach Jason Kidd on Monday pointed to shooting as something that every NBA team needs. On Tuesday, Horst pointed to a host of other key traits he’s looking for.
“We talked about it yesterday, the Bucks DNA,” Horst said. “That combination of character, talent, work ethic, IQ, et cetera, not so much about the skill set but the person. The skill sets will translate. We have a very versatile team, you look at the guys that we have . ... It’s more about who they are.”
Herd logo leak: The Wisconsin Herd, the Bucks’ affiliate in the newly-rebranded NBA Gatorade League or G-League — formerly the NBA Development League — will host an event on Thursday afternoon to unveil its logo.
Those in attendance at Oshkosh West High School probably won’t be seeing the Herd’s logo for the first time when the event begins at 1:30 p.m.
That’s because an eagleeyed Twitter user Joshua Lentz saw the Herd’s logo on the G-League’s updated website, which debuted Thursday. It’s since been taken down, but not before it made its way around social media.