Milwaukee Bucks And The Eastern Conference Playoff Draft

Round 5

1. Cleveland Cavaliers: Marvin Williams, F – Needing a combo forward to stretch the floor on offense and guard 4s on defense, the Cavaliers take Williams over players without playoff experience in Porzingis and Gordon.

2. Boston Celtics: Jeff Teague, PG – The last team to take a point guard, the Celtics are planning on running the offense through Jimmy Butler. Teague provides a secondary option and someone to run the offense when he is on the bench.

3. Toronto Raptors: P.J. Tucker, F – The Raptors liked Tucker enough to add him at the trade deadline, and the same goes here. He provides a tough defensive option as a stretch-4.

4. Washington Wizards: Marcin Gortat, C – Another team going after one of their own, the Wizards know that Gortat fits perfectly in what they are building. When this team goes small Gortat has the disposition to sit the bench in order to help his team win.

5. Milwaukee Bucks: Myles Turner, C – Young and untested, Turner nonetheless provides the outline of a perfect player for the roster Milwaukee has constructed.

He can guard the rim and hit outside shots and on nights where he isn’t going, the Bucks will downsize with their versatile roster.

6. Atlanta Hawks: Courtney Lee, G – Lee had a strong run in the playoffs last season for Charlotte, and he can slot into an Atlanta lineup looking for wing defense.

7. Chicago Bulls: Kristaps Porzingis, F/C – Porzingis was a borderline All-Star this season, the type of player who on talent alone would have gone three rounds earlier in this draft. But a lack of playoff experience and his extreme youth kept him out until now.

8. Miami Heat: Tobias Harris, F – The draft is getting to the point where roster construction and win-now potential are far outweighing talent and potential. Harris is solid, plays hard, and fits a role here.

Round 6

1. Cleveland Cavaliers: J.R. Smith, G – The Cavaliers acquired Smith two seasons ago to play defense and bomb from distance, and that combination of skills is just as valuable to this iteration of the Cavaliers.

2. Boston Celtics: Greg Monroe, C – With Ibaka starting at the 5, the Celtics need a center off the bench who can play alongside Ibaka. Monroe is having a bounce-back year for the Bucks and would provide strong interior scoring off the bench.

3. Toronto Raptors: Cory Joseph, PG – The Raptors have done well assembling a deep and versatile roster to combat the Cavaliers, and it shows as they pick they pick a third player from their own roster and the fifth Raptor overall.

4. Washington Wizards: Tony Snell, SG – Snell’s value has skyrocketed in Milwaukee this season, as he went from Chicago castoff to starter on a playoff team. Snell gives the Wizards a lengthy defensive option at the 2 that can come in off the bench and play in small-ball lineups.

5. Milwaukee Bucks: Dennis Schroder, PG – Schroder is one of the weaker starting guards in the Eastern Conference, but he does bring an elite skill to the table in his quickness. When Giannis sits he can be the waterbug guard off the bench to bend opposing defenses.

Milwaukee Bucks

6. Atlanta Hawks: Kent Bazemore, F – Atlanta has need of more bodies on the wing, and Bazemore provides that. While his shooting has slumped this year he still brings effort and length to every game.

7. Chicago Bulls: Aaron Gordon, F – The Bulls are all-in on the youth movement, banking on energy and athleticism to overwhelm opponents. Gordon can jump out of the gym but is inconsistent from a skillset point of view.

8. Miami Heat: DeMarre Carroll, F – Another player in the midst of a down season, Carroll has the defensive chops and offensive ability to be a meaningful rotation piece.

Rounds 7-10

1. Cleveland Cavaliers: 7th – Jeremy Lin; 8th – Cody Zeller; 9th – Channing Frye; 10th – Lance Thomas – The Cavaliers round out their bench with the playmaker LeBron has wanted all season in Lin, and frontcourt depth to allow the Cavaliers to play a variety of lineups.

2. Boston Celtics: 7th – Terrence Ross; 8th – Thad Young; 9th – Ersan Iylasova; 10th – C.J. Miles – The Celtics add shooting on the wing in Ross, Iylasova and Miles to space the floor on bench units, while Young’s talent level is too high to last longer than the 8th round.

3. Toronto Raptors: 7th – Jonas Valancunias; 8th – Marcus Smart; 9th – Tim Hardaway; 10th – Randy Foye – The Raptors snag another of their own in Valancunias, who can dominate in the post and on the glass for short bursts off the bench. Their final three picks are bulking up their backcourt to support the small-ball look they are pursuing.

4. Washington Wizards: 7th – Malcolm Brogdon; 8th – Robin Lopez; 9th – Iman Shumpert; 10th – Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – Brogdon finally comes off the board as the fifth Milwaukee Buck, and given the Bucks’ struggled since his injury perhaps Brogdon should have gone sooner.

Lopez allows Washington to win the boards against bench units, and Shumpert and MKG give them a defensive edge.

5. Milwaukee Bucks: 7th – Norman Powell; 8th – Dario Saric; 9th – James Johnson; 10th – Gerald Henderson – The Bucks run a hyper-aggressive defensive scheme, and they loaded up on lengthy bench wings to fill in at various positions and give them the versatility to execute their scheme.

6. Atlanta Hawks: 7th – Patrick Patterson; 8th – Deron Williams; 9th – Bismack Biyombo; 10th – Josh Richardson – Patterson is one of nine Raptors chosen, most of any team — are we sleeping on them as an Eastern Conference contender?

Biyombo has the defensive upside to change the tenor of a game and Josh Richardson is young but has the defensive chop to lock down a microwave bench scorer.

7. Chicago Bulls: 7th – Thabo Sefolosha; 8th – Nikola Vucevic; 9th – Ish Smith; 10th – Bojan Bogdanovic – Every team is adding wing defense and Sefolosha has one of the best pedigrees out there. Vucevic and Smith give the Bulls bench creation and Bogdanovic can space the floor with the starters or bench units.

8. Miami Heat: 7th – Reggie Jackson; 8th – Marcus Morris; 9th – Dion Waiters; 10th – Kelly Olynyk – The Heat try to recreate the best Detroit has to offer with another par of Pistons, then fill things out with superman Dion Waiters and underrated stretch-5 Kelly Olynyk.