Bucks face numerous decisions on draft night
Team could trade down or buy another pick
It's Monday of NBA draft week, which means projected top picks are starting to assemble in New York City for Thursday's event at Brooklyn's Barclays Center. The time for evaluations is just about done and over the coming days teams will begin to further cocoon themselves in an effort to safeguard their strategies.
For the Milwaukee Bucks, which hold the No. 17 overall pick, the possibilities are limited only by the imagination. If you're of the mind that the Bucks should draft the best player available regardless of fit, deciding who is the best player won't come easily.
There are reasonable arguments to be made for the Bucks locking in on a point guard, wing or big man with their pick. There should be solid options at each spot who could potentially provide both short- and long-term stability. Sorting between the best player now and the one with the most potential to unlock is sure to be part of conversations had between Milwaukee general manager Jon Horst and members of his staff.
Of course, there are more options than just the players available at the 17th spot in the draft. The Bucks have to consider all their options, including trades and finding a way into the second round.
Do the Bucks have the assets to trade up?
The short answer here is that it would be fairly difficult for the Bucks to move up in the draft.
To do so, the Bucks would need to combine their pick and some kind of sweetener in the form of sending out a player or taking back a bad contract. Since Parker is a restricted free agent
and can't be traded on draft night, the Bucks would be limited to including some of their young, proven talents in a trade if they wanted to move up. Players like Malcolm Brogdon and Thon Maker would likely be considered too valuable to only move up a few spots and not good enough to convince a team out of using a high pick.
When it comes to absorbing a contract, the Bucks just don't have enough space under the luxury tax. It's always possible the Bucks could find a creative way to move up, but it doesn't seem likely.
Is there value in simply trading the pick instead of using it?
This question is more intriguing. Not including Parker, the Bucks currently have 12 of a maximum 15 players under contract for next season, though Brandon Jennings' contract isn't guaranteed and the Bucks will reportedly need to make a decision on him before the end of the month.
Adding a rookie draft pick to the mix would tie up one of the remaining roster spots, albeit at a team-friendly slotted salary of $2.5 million for his rookie season. But could that pick be better utilized? The Bucks could potentially package that pick along with an expensive contract — think Tony Snell, Matthew Dellavedova or John Henson who will each make between $9.5 and $11 million each this season — to afford themselves some more wiggle room relative to the luxury tax heading into the summer.
Finding a team to absorb that type of salary hit could be tough and might require taking back a player with a lesser salary in return, but overall, salary relief could be more useful this summer on the free-agent market and in finding more rotation-ready players than what would be available in the draft.
In doing such a trade, the Bucks could theoretically also trade down — either including players in the deal or just picks. Teams like the Atlanta Hawks, which own pick Nos. 30 and 34, and the Philadelphia 76ers, which own pick Nos. 26, 38, 39, 56 and 60, could be potential trading partners if the Bucks want to turn their one shot at a draft pick into two.
Doing so would give the Bucks a few chances to find a contributor while also slotting those rookies into smaller contracts that would benefit Milwaukee's cap situation in the short and long term.
If the Bucks are going to trade down, offloading a salary or bringing back a mix of current and future picks might be the best option.
More about the second round
The Bucks, who dealt their secondround pick (No. 45) to the Brooklyn Nets in the Tyler Zeller-Rashad Vaughn trade, can still get back into the second round without giving up their firstround selection. All it takes it a little bit of cash.
NBA teams are allowed to spend up to $3.5 million to buy a draft pick, though it usually doesn't cost that much to purchase a pick. Last year, for example, the Bucks received $2 million from the Los Angeles Clippers for Sindarius Thornwell who Milwaukee had taken with the 48th pick. In July, the Bucks sent $1.9 million to the 76ers for the draft rights to Sterling Brown (46th pick).
If the Bucks so choose, they could use their No. 17 pick and buy their way back into the second round. Considering the success and potential of Brogdon and Brown, who were taken in the second round of the past two drafts, that may not be a bad option.
If they trade or buy in, who should the Bucks look at in the second round?
Jalen Brunson, PG, Villanova: Brunson was the national player of the year, a two-time national champion and a proven leader who could be poised for a long, successful NBA career despite being a projected second-rounder.
Tony Carr, G, Penn State: A capable scorer who shot 43.3% on 203 threepoint attempts last season, Carr (6foot-4) has good size for a combo guard and could be a spark off the bench.
Jevon Carter, PG, West Virginia: A relentless defender, reliable three-point shooter and an all-American? Sounds like a good fit. Carter is just 6-foot-1 but he's not short on tenacity.
Devonte' Graham, PG, Kansas: Graham is closer to his ceiling as a 23-yearold, but he's a knockdown shooter having made 40.6% of his 271 three-point attempts as a senior.
Shake Milton, G/F, SMU: At 6-foot-6 with great quickness and athleticism, Milton has the potential to be a versatile option who can defend positions 1-3. He shot 43.4% on threes his last season in college on 129 attempts.
Malik Newman, G, Kansas: If the Bucks are looking for someone who knows how to score and can be a spark plug off the bench, Newman could be the perfect fit.
Landry Shamet, G, Wichita State: Shamet is an excellent shooter, who shot 43.7% on 364 attempts in his three college season. He could be a serious long-range weapon if his stroke can translate to the NBA the way it's expected to.