Milwaukee Bucks Looking to Draft Shooter in 1st Round

The first four picks of the 2015 NBA Draft are fairly set in stone. It will likely be Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, D’Angelo Russell, and Emmanuel Mudiay in some order, but things are a lot less clear after that.

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Much speculation has been made on what position the Milwaukee Bucks will address with the No. 17 pick. Like most years, the post-lottery half of the 1st round has a ton of prospects that weren’t able to separate themselves from the pack. Some 30 college and international players have a chance to fall into this range and it’s hard to accurately predict any pick because of that.

In a recent interview during the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago though, the Bucks’ head coach Jason Kidd threw a bone to reporters and fans, specifically a bone that must be able to shoot three-pointers.

Jason Kidd said the #Bucks will be looking for a perimeter shooter with the 17th pick.
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) May 15, 2015

The two notorious perimeter shooters that will be selected in the Bucks’ range are Georgia State’s R.J. Hunter and Kentucky’s Devin Booker.

Hunter is a 6’5″ junior shooting guard who shot 715 three-point attempts in his three years of college basketball. Scouts were high on him coming into this past season, but his draft stock took a hit when he only converted 30.5% of his three-pointers. Hunter still managed to burst onto the national scene during this year’s NCAA Tournament, capping off an unbelievable comeback for his Georgia State Panthers with this shot.

That was an NBA three if I’ve ever seen one.

The Bucks have valued length in past drafts so that could have them favoring Hunter, but the fact that they’re specifically looking for perimeter scoring means the focus is on offense which could lean more towards Booker.

Devin Booker’s defensive prospects might not be as high as Hunter’s due to Hunter’s length, but he may just be the better shooter. He made 41.1% of his 141 three-point attempts during his one season at Kentucky.

Now I know what you’re thinking. What would Kidd and the Milwaukee Bucks have to gain by letting this information be known?

If the Bucks are actually choosing Hunter or Booker, the answer is absolutely nothing. All that leaking this information would do in that case is warn other teams that they should reach on those two shooting guards because they won’t both be available after the Bucks pick at No. 17.

The Bucks have shown to be smarter than that though in recent times, which means they are possibly just trying to psych out other teams. Now teams drafting behind the Bucks that are looking for their starting shooting guard of the future, might just call the Bucks up on draft night and offer Milwaukee some assets to swap picks.

Milwaukee Bucks GM John Hammond. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports

The last explanation for Kidd releasing this information is that he’s not actually giving much away at all. The only skill requirement for a player according to him is that they must be able to shoot from the perimeter. Many players that are not shooting guards fall into this category.

Power forwards like Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky, UCLA’s Kevon Looney, and Arkansas’ Bobby Portis all shot over 40% from behind the arc and may be available with the No. 17 pick. Players at other positions also have capable three-point shots like Murray State’s point guard Cameron Payne or Virginia’s small forward Justin Anderson.

My hunch is that the Bucks will have a list of capable three-point shooters and select the best player remaining off that list at No. 17, regardless of position. It’s good to have a specific skill in mind like three-point shooting, but the Bucks still have to keep in mind that they need to keep adding the best talent and I think that’s exactly what they’ll do.

Next: Our Latest NBA Mock Draft

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