With the sun officially setting on the Bucks’ playoff hopes Monday night, Milwaukee’s front office will begin to switch focus toward June’s NBA Draft. The Bucks will likely land a pick in the 10-14 range and will be looking to add some size to a team lacking a true center (Kwame does not count) since the departure of Andrew Bogut. While typically late-lottery picks are not expected to yield star players, the 2012 draft is viewed as one of the strongest in recent memory and Milwaukee should come away with a rookie who can step in and produce from day one.
Kentucky freshman and Naismith Award winner Anthony Davis is the clear prize of the draft and will almost certainly hear his name called first by Commissioner Stern on draft night. The 6’11” forward is a nightmare defensively and showed great improvement in his offensive game as the season progressed. Davis and other big names, such as Thomas Robinson and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, will be long gone by the time Milwaukee is on the clock, but several impact players will likely be available.
If Milwaukee does indeed decide to select a big man, Illinois’ Meyers Leonard and North Carolina’s Tyler Zeller are two potential options. Leonard, considered to have the greater upside of the two, has an ideal NBA frame but will need to add some muscle to survive inside against the likes of Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum on a nightly basis. His production in college was nothing spectacular, but at just 20 years old, the athletic Leonard could develop into the center of the future for Milwaukee. Zeller, the 2012 ACC Player of the Year, put up more impressive numbers than Leonard, but lacks the elite athleticism and strength of his younger counterpart. The senior has a very high basketball IQ and work ethic, but his ceiling is rather low and he may even project more as a power forward than a center due to his thin build.
If the Bucks choose to look elsewhere for a quality big man in this year’s draft, they may target Mississippi State’s Arnett Moultrie or Jared Sullinger of Ohio State. Moultrie’s inside-outside offensive game has drawn comparisons to Jermaine O’Neal and his elite athleticism could make him an effective defender at the next level. At 6’10” he is a bit undersized for the center position, but would give Scott Skiles some flexibility, as Moultrie has experience at all three frontcourt positions. Sullinger excelled in his two years at Ohio State, earning all-conference honors both seasons and bullying his way to easy baskets in the paint. The question is whether his game will translate well to the NBA, where every team will have a player bigger than the 6’9″ Sullinger. If he performs well in individual workouts and exhibits a more effective mid-range game, Sullinger could be a top-ten pick. If he is available when Milwaukee is on the clock, it would be a tempting pick, but his lack of size and relatively low ceiling may ultimately ward the Bucks off.
Should Milwaukee opt to address its need for a center via free agency or trade, they may simply select the best player available at the time. In such a deep draft, this possibility would almost guarantee the Bucks a player who can contribute immediately. The front office could choose to roll the dice on Baylor sophomore forward Perry Jones, once considered a candidate for the top overall pick. The 6’11” Jones has arguably the highest ceiling of any prospect, but was plagued by inconsistent play throughout his two years at Baylor. He notably disappeared in several big games, but showed flashes of brilliance at times. Jones has the ability to play the two, three and four positions, but will most likely see the most action at the small forward spot. He would offer Milwaukee a versatile option capable of creating mismatches against smaller defenders.
The Bucks could also choose to address the guard positions, especially if Brandon Jennings decides to sign elsewhere this offseason. If Jennings does opt to stay, Milwaukee could look to add a scorer off the bench, such as Syracuse sophomore Dion Waiters. The 6’4″ Waiters came off the bench to lead the Orangemen in scoring in 2011-12 and his penetration-focused game should translate well to the NBA. On film he looks like a slightly-smaller Tyreke Evans clone, right down to the unorthodox jumpshot mechanics. Waiters has an NBA-ready frame and excels at getting to the rim, but also boasts deep three-point range. He is a player whose stock steadily rose all season and that trend should continue as individual and group workouts commence in the coming months. Should Jennings decide to sign with another club, Milwaukee may look to trade up in order to grab a point guard for the future. North Carolina’s Kendall Marshall and Weber State’s Damian Lillard are the two most-coveted floor generals, though neither is thought of as a future superstar. In this scenario, Milwaukee would most likely refrain from trading up and instead try to fill the void via free agency.
