Milwaukee Bucks And The Eastern Conference Playoff Draft
Final Thoughts
When the dust settles and the playoff rosters are set after the first annual Eastern Conference Playoff Draft, the field understandably looks remarkably different.
Cleveland’s “Big Three” are now LeBron James, Kemba Walker and Khris Middleton. Goran Dragic is now running the offense in Toronto flanked by Paul George and DeMar DeRozan.
Boston has amassed seemingly all of their recent trade targets, and are one of only two teams (Chicago) not to add one of their own players.
Three takeaways stand out when evaluating how the draft turned out, specifically with an eye towards the Milwaukee Bucks. First, the Bucks’ roster around Giannis is sparse at best.
Khris Middleton deservedly went in the third round, but the third and fourth Bucks (Greg Monroe and Tony Snell) did not move until the sixth round. In total just five Bucks were selected, which was tied for seventh-most with the Miami Heat.
This highlights the complete brilliance of Antetokounmpo in raising this team into the playoff picture. The recent three-game slide is troubling, but the Bucks are still near-locks to make the postseason.
Without the talent of a playoff roster and despite numerous injuries, Giannis has this team heading to the playoffs.
Secondly, how did the Bucks form a team around Giannis in the playoff draft? Middleton is a great player, but cannot touch the talent level of Kevin Love. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is one of the league’s best guard defenders and is in line for a max contract this summer.
Evan Fournier signed one himself last summer and is the offensive weapon the current Bucks roster simply does not have.
Overall the talent level on the playoff re-draft is higher than the current Bucks’ roster, although that doesn’t speak to potential. If Jabari Parker returns at a high level, Giannis continues to grow, and Thon Maker becomes a reliable starting center this team is going to go places.
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But this season, they benefit from the playoff redraft.
Finally, this draft shows how the league values positions and role when approaching a playoff setting. Elite two-way wings were four of the first five picks, going before the All-Star point guards.
The versatility of going large or small, the added defensive value, and the scarcity of strong wing options all boost the value of players such as Jimmy Butler and Paul George.
On the other end of the spectrum, All-Star level centers had to wait a long time for their number to be called. Andre Drummond and Hassan Whiteside dropped to the fifth round despite putting up gaudy rebound and block totals.
In the postseason, the emphasis is on versatility and ground-bound centers are not as vital to success.
Next: 50 Greatest Players Not in the Hall of Fame
In the end, a playoff draft is an intriguing exercise that highlights various contours of the league and its players. And ultimately, whether the rosters stay the same or are shuffled around, it’s probably the team with LeBron James that will be advancing in the end.