By: Chris Terlop
The Milwaukee Bucks, like a lot of teams Thursday night, surprised fans and critics alike by taking Greek Small Forward Giannis Antetokounmpon with the 15th overall pick. For everyone’s sake we are going to turn him into a one named star in the style of Seal and Nene and just call him Giannis. More importantly what does this puzzling pick mean for the future of the Bucks?
If they are smart, a total rebuild. Giannis is two to three years away from being anywhere near an NBA court. At 6-9, he has the skills of a point guard and great physical tools and at 19 years old has plenty of room to grow. The reason he is a prototypical draft-and-stash guy is that he is playing the equivalent of a high school league in Greece.
With Giannis so far away, Monte Ellis opting to skip town, JJ Redick highly unlikely to return the Bucks would be best suited letting Brandon Jennings walk as well and undergo a total rebuild. This team with Jennings, at best, will be the ninth or tenth best team in the East with no real hope for improvement in the future. This has been their biggest problem.
Milwaukee has picked in the top five just once in the past 17 years when they picked first overall and took Andrew Bogut. This would be ok if they had a slew of playoff success, but they have not won a series in 12 years. They have been stuck in draft purgatory.
The teens are the worst place to pick, with rarely any All-Star talent coming in those picks. In order to have any hope of constructing a competitive team, they need to tank for an incredibly talented 2014 class, including can’t miss prospect Andrew Wiggins.
Without Jennings, Ellis, and Redick this team will struggle to score, but a young frontcourt will have the ability to flourish and grow
The Bucks would need to sign a free agent guard or two and make a run at re-signing Mike Dunleavy this team will have a slew of players under contract for the considerable future and cap room to lock up Larry Sanders and Ekpe Udoh, if he earns it, long term before 2014.
Throw them with Luc Mbah a Moute (under contract to 2015), Ersan Ilyasova (2017), John Henson (2016), Ish Smith (2015), and rookie Nate Wolters and you have a roster with some young talent and cap flexibility for the future.
No that roster will not win, in turn jumping into good position in a loaded draft class. However, that is a roster that will play hard for head coach Larry Drew and lose the “me-first” stigma that Brandon Jennings brought to the table. Sometimes the only way to go up is to hit rock bottom.
You can hear Chris on Sportsline M-F and Saturdays at 8 am. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisTerlop
