Milwaukee Bucks: 4 ways Mike Budenholzer will improve the team
3. Wing development at Hawks University
One side effect of making the postseason for 10 straight seasons is a lack of lottery picks. While other teams took trips down into the league’s basement to restock on talent through the draft, the Atlanta Hawks were forced to bolster their roster by other means.
Under Budenholzer, one way the team found success was bringing in unheralded prospects on the wing. This could be reclamation projects who had failed elsewhere, or young players on the outside looking in. While in Atlanta, Budenholzer and his staff had a very high success rate at turning these players into starters.
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DeMarre Carroll was the first graduate of Hawks University, coming to the team as a flyer after starting 22 games over four seasons bouncing around the Western Conference. He started an average of 71 games the next two seasons for Atlanta, emerging as a two-way wing threat for a Hawks team that won 60 games in 2014-15. After making $5 million over two seasons in Atlanta, Carroll signed a four-year, $60 million contract with the Toronto Raptors.
Kent Bazemore was another such example, an undrafted free agent who spent two seasons with the Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers as a third-string point guard. An end-of-the-season run with a Lakers team not trying to win showed Atlanta there was something to work with. By his second season in Atlanta Bazemore had turned into a 3-and-D starter for the Hawks, earning a $70 million contract and nationwide recognition.
In Milwaukee there are wings galore, and if Budenholzer can tap into their upside he will have plenty of contributors. Tony Snell was a solid starter for the team in 2016-17, but this past season was in-and-out of the starting lineup. Sterling Brown, a 2017 second round pick, showed flashes this past season. If retained, Shabazz Muhammad could use a career booster. Bedenholzer has a lot to work with.