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Milwaukee Bucks: 5 reasons D.J. Wilson was a bad pick

By Josh Cornelissen

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 12: D.J. Wilson
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 12: D.J. Wilson /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 17: Kyle Kuzma #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives past Caleb Swanigan #50 of the Portland Trail Blazers during the championship game of the 2017 Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 17, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Los Angeles won 110-98. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 17: Kyle Kuzma #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives past Caleb Swanigan #50 of the Portland Trail Blazers during the championship game of the 2017 Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 17, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Los Angeles won 110-98. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

3. Similar players looked dynamic in NBA Summer League

An immediate and imperfect test for each team’s draft selections is NBA Summer League, where rookies take the court for the first time as NBA players. While D.J. Wilson did not make a fool of himself, he likewise failed to stand out — while a number of his peers did.

The Bucks cannot be blamed for missing out on players selected before them — Lonzo Ball, Jayson Tatum and Dennis Smith Jr. all looked incredible in Las Vegas. While Milwaukee hoped Donovan Mitchell would fall to them at 17, he went 13th to the Utah Jazz — and also looked incredible during his time in Summer League.

But among those players available when the Bucks selected Wilson, a number of players stood out. More specifically, if Milwaukee had its heart set on a power forward with range, a number of other players may make the Bucks regret their selection.

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John Collins of Wake Forest University led the nation in Player Efficiency Rating last season as a sophomore, racking up double-doubles left and right. Younger than many of the freshman in this year’s class, he came out in Las Vegas and balled out. Between highlight reel dunks, he scored 15.4 points per game and pulled in 9.2 rebounds per game.

Semi Ojeleye didn’t accrue the raw numbers that Collins did, but he also demonstrated clear defensive chops. Ojeleye has the size to guard inside and the footspeed to guard on the perimeter, and offensively he can score at both levels as well.

Finally, Kyle Kuzma may have been the most impressive player at Summer League not selected in the lottery. The 27th pick of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kuzma excelled alongside Lonzo Ball — and without him — to put up 21.9 points per game on 51.4 percent shooting, including a blistering 48 percent from long range on 50 attempts.

There is still plenty of time for D.J. Wilson to catch up, but the first glimpse showed him to be less impressive than many of his peers.

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