For the first time in a decade, the Milwaukee Bucks have the rights to a lottery pick.<\/p>\n
As with everything this offseason, though, the organization needs to decide what to do with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo before knowing how to use the 10th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. If co-owner Jimmy Haslam\u2019s self-imposed deadline is to be believed, the Bucks will answer that question \u2014 Will they keep Antetokounmpo or trade him? \u2014 before the draft gets underway on June 23.<\/p>\n
No matter what they decide, though, the Bucks will need to be ready for the draft. And no one knows the draft better than The Athletic\u2019s Sam Vecenie. So I asked Sam to join me to help Milwaukee fans get a better understanding of this year\u2019s draft and who the Bucks might consider at No. 10.<\/p>\n
Nehm:<\/strong> I know you\u2019ll reveal what tiers you see these players on when your draft guide comes out, but in my opinion, two tiers should matter to the Bucks at No. 10.<\/p>\n The first tier is made up of Duke\u2019s Cameron Boozer, BYU\u2019s AJ Dybantsa, Kansas\u2019 Darren Peterson and North Carolina\u2019s Caleb Wilson. Those are the four players (listed in alphabetical order) who won\u2019t be available to the Bucks because they will be the top four picks. The second tier features Arkansas\u2019 Darius Acuff Jr., Louisville\u2019s Mikel Brown Jr., Arizona\u2019s Brayden Burries, Houston\u2019s Kingston Flemings and Illinois\u2019 Keaton Wagler. From my understanding of this draft, those guards \u2014 because of their age, potential, skill and talent \u2014 are the next five best prospects.<\/p>\n Once you get past those two groups, it gets a little murkier.<\/p>\n Do you agree with that assessment? And while it is certainly possible that other players might hop above that group because of the preferences or evaluations of other teams, do you think the Bucks should just take one of those guards if they fall to No. 10?<\/p>\n Vecenie:<\/strong> I would throw Michigan\u2019s Yaxel Lendeborg into that tier with the guards, but from a general standpoint, that would be accurate. Some teams might throw Michigan center Aday Mara in there. Some teams might throw Washington\u2019s Hannes Steinbach or another Wolverine, Morez Johnson Jr., in there depending on what they need. Tennessee\u2019s Nate Ament is a polarizing prospect who some teams would include in that window of players. But the guards are the players that teams largely agree on regarding this draft.<\/p>\n And, yes, I think the Bucks should certainly take Wagler, Acuff, Brown or Flemings if any of them fall to No. 10. Burries is a slightly more complicated conversation, because part of what makes his game so special is how complementary he is to playing next to great players. If Milwaukee moves on from Antetokounmpo, it might make less sense to go with Burries, but I think I would probably still take him anyway.<\/p>\n Nehm:<\/strong> Do you feel like any one of those five guards would fit best in Milwaukee or be a best-case scenario for the Bucks to get at No. 10?<\/p>\n Vecenie:<\/strong> I rank Acuff first, followed by Wagler, Flemings, Burries and then Brown. For the Bucks, I would probably flip Brown and Burries, but keep the order the same.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think there is much of a chance of Acuff getting to No. 10. He\u2019s an offensive driver who is about as polished a lead guard as I have seen at his age in terms of his shooting, footwork, passing out of ball screens and ability to find his shot. I also would be fairly stunned to see Wagler there. He just led the No. 1 offense in the country to the Final Four as a 6-foot-5 lead guard who is an elite ball-screen playmaker with tremendous feel for the game and elite shooting ability off stepbacks. There are many reasons to be excited about him.<\/p>\n Among the other three, I like Flemings best, because I think he\u2019s the best athlete and decision-maker of the group. Flemings plays fast while making rapid, on-the-fly choices and also has a strong center of gravity with strength. The jumper looks funky, but he\u2019s a terrific midrange shooter and knocked down his 3s even if they didn\u2019t come in bunches this season. He\u2019s also regarded as an extremely thoughtful player who is mature and a hard worker.<\/p>\n You can make the case that Brown has the highest ceiling of everyone if it comes together, but I do worry about his lack of strength, which holds him back from scoring within 15 feet of the rim right now. His lack of a floater game or interior finishing ability is a massive area he has to work on; otherwise, he might be resigned to taking too many difficult shots. His defense is also a significant work in progress.<\/p>\n Nehm:<\/strong> Watching the guards on the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals makes me feel like you\u2019d better be at least 6-foot-4 and strong if you want to play high-level playoff basketball. Most of these guards don\u2019t fit that criteria. How much concern do you have about the size of the players in that group, and does it stand out as a huge issue for any of them?<\/p>\n Vecenie:<\/strong> To me, basketball is a game of tradeoffs. Your strengths need to outweigh your weaknesses. Draymond Green\u2019s shooting is less of a problem in the playoffs because he\u2019s arguably the best postseason defender of his generation. On the other side, Jalen Brunson\u2019s defense can be worked around because he\u2019s outscoring you on the offensive end. The key is that what you\u2019re good at needs to be better than what you\u2019re bad at.<\/p>\n You can play in the playoffs if you can do four of these five things well: dribble, pass, shoot, defend and think. If you can handle the ball, make good decisions with it and take advantage of what defenses give you in rotation as a passer, knock down shots, defend in some way, shape or form and make rapid choices faster than other players on the court, you can make it work. That\u2019s why Jose Alvarado has been useful for the Knicks in the playoffs. He can do those five things well, even if his size puts him at a disadvantage. And the same goes for someone like Jared McCain, who is strong but undersized. He\u2019s not a monster defender, but he can dribble, pass, shoot and think.<\/p>\n So all of that is to say, can a player\u2019s strengths outweigh his weaknesses \u2014 and can you surround him with players who allow that to happen?<\/p>\n In Acuff\u2019s case, there is an excellent chance he is such an overwhelming offensive player that it works despite his poor defense \u2014 and he\u2019s at least strong enough to hold his line when he locks in. Flemings is strong and gives a lot of effort on defense even if the results are mixed. Burries is a terrific two-way player. Wagler is incredibly smart and did a fine job with his off-ball defense when scrambling and in rotation this season, even if he was too skinny to wall up on defense. Brown is the one whom I have the most concerns about if his decision-making doesn\u2019t get ironed out \u2014 he\u2019s too much of a home-run hitter who doesn\u2019t take the singles right now \u2014 but there\u2019s also a chance his upside offensively makes him worth the pick.<\/p>\n Nehm:<\/b> Let\u2019s move past those first nine players. In your mock draft on June 8, you reported that the Bucks have interest in Steinbach, the big man from Washington. What do Bucks fans need to know about him?<\/p>\n Vecenie:<\/strong> Steinbach is a massive human who is skilled and coordinated for his size. His hands are elite \u2014 he catches just about everything in and around his radius, and that allows him to be incredibly productive. As a freshman this year, he averaged 18.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game despite playing for a Washington team whose guards were about as poor at getting him the ball in advantageous situations as I can remember for a lottery prospect.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t sleep on the jumper, either. He hit 34 percent from 3 while taking about two attempts per game. I don\u2019t trust him as a shooter right now, but I think there\u2019s a chance he can be a shooter from the corners in a few years.<\/p>\n The key for him is going to be on the defensive end. He\u2019s not a monster rim protector at the five, and I\u2019d love to see him continue to improve in that respect. Additionally, he\u2019s a better mover than you think on the perimeter, but he\u2019s not good enough to guard fours, fight through screens and deal with switches all the time. Essentially, he might be a bit caught between those two roles.<\/p>\n I have him as a clear lottery pick and think it would be reasonable to select him at No. 10, even if it wouldn\u2019t be the highest-upside swing. He\u2019s definitely going to play in the NBA for a decade-plus; it\u2019s just whether he\u2019ll be a difference-maker.<\/p>\n Nehm:<\/b> As long as I have covered the NBA, I have obsessed over the need for teams to get quality wings. From my perspective as an NBA draft novice though, it doesn\u2019t really seem like there are a lot of wings that would make sense for the Bucks with the 10th pick. Am I misinterpreting that or what do you think of wings that might be available at that spot?<\/p>\n Vecenie:<\/strong> Well, I think the crop of wings in this class is pretty rough. Among the players I\u2019ve assigned first-round grades (I have 25 of those this season), I only have 10 wings or forwards, and that includes guys like Wilson and Boozer, who I think will be better off playing the four as opposed to being a true wing. If we limit things to the wings, I only have three in this class.<\/p>\n The two that stand out in the range just below the Bucks are Baylor\u2019s Cameron Carr and Texas\u2019 Dailyn Swain. They\u2019re almost polar opposites. Carr is skinny and struggles to gain any ground as a ballhandler in half-court settings because it\u2019s hard for him to leverage his opponents. He has high hips. But on the plus side, he\u2019s an awesome shooter with a plus-nine wingspan and is a seriously explosive athlete. His defensive game must improve, but with how valuable shooting is, he\u2019ll go somewhere in the top 20.<\/p>\n Swain is more interesting as an upside swing; he\u2019s a 6-foot-6 wing who can pressure the rim and handle the ball. His handle is loose but under control, and he plays with some sudden slinkiness that allows him to get into the paint regularly to score. The issue for Swain is that his jumper is not good right now, and he has some maddening defensive lapses off the ball despite terrific length and steal production. I have Swain ranked higher than Carr because I think the ceiling is slightly higher thanks to his ability to get to the rim, play with bend and absorb contact. But Swain is far from a finished product and will need to improve to play regular minutes as a rookie.<\/p>\n I also have Tennessee\u2019s Nate Ament in this range. Ament can handle the ball and was an interesting shooter in high school, but he has high hips that don\u2019t allow him to play as physically as you\u2019d like as a driver. If his frame develops and he gets much stronger, you could see a world where he can dribble, pass and shoot at nearly 6-foot-10. But it will take time before he\u2019s ready for NBA minutes as a difference-maker.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the first time in a decade, the Milwaukee Bucks have the rights to a lottery pick. 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