Milwaukee Bucks: 5 options for pick No. 17 in 2017 NBA Draft
2. Justin Jackson, SF, North Carolina
To continue an unintentional trend, the Bucks keep their gaze focused on North Carolina ACC schools with a trip over to Chapel Hill and the national champion Tar Heels. The squad’s best player, Justin Jackson, fits this team’s needs like a glove.
Like Kennard, Jackson’s greatest strength is his shooting. Jackson poured in the time and effort before his junior season, improving his jumper so it can be counted on as a real strength. The 6’8″ forward raised his three-point percentage from 29 percent his sophomore year to 37 percent his junior season.
Jackson also became deadly from midrange, pulling up from 15-18 feet and stroking shots. With Giannis driving into the teeth of a defense there are often open shots available behind him, in the open space he just vacated. Jackson could thrive in that space.
A knock against Jackson has been his lack of strength and weight, as he is rail thin at only 193 pounds. But the Bucks specifically won’t see this as much of a drawback, as they have overseen the development of both Antetokounmpo and now Thon Maker from pencil-thin to more chiseled NBA bodies.
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While Jackson is thin, what he does have is length, with a 6’11” wingspan and 8’8.5″ standing reach. That fits perfectly into the defensive scheme Milwaukee runs, aggressively attacking the pick-and-roll while relying on wingspans and foot speed to recover behind the play. His defense was key throughout the Tar Heels’ run to the NCAA title.
The reason Jackson may drop to Milwaukee at 17 is that teams are concerned about his positional versatility. It will be years before Jackson has the size to guard power forwards full-time, if he ever reaches that point, and wings who can’t slide down to play as a small-ball 4 have less value in today’s NBA.
On Milwaukee that problem is mitigated because of the sheer number of combo forwards the team already has. Jabari Parker was a full-time power forward last season, and Giannis Antetokounmpo started at the 4 throughout their playoff run. Even Khris Middleton has the strength to hold up in the post as necessary. Jackson can fit in as more of a Tony Snell replacement than a combo forward, a role he could thrive in.