Flling Needs Through the Draft

[Jenneral]

Because they control the contracts of Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut for the next four years, the Milwaukee Bucks are ahead of the game in two big ways.

 

They have the most important positions, as well as the hardest to fill, locked down for as long as anyone needs to look ahead in the NBA.

 

But what they don't have at the moment are the means to protect their prize investments from wear and tear, particularly Bogut, subject as he is like a lot of big men to injury.

 

Of course, the Bucks may not have a shooting guard, period, if John Salmons doesn't re-sign and Michael Redd is done after a second major knee surgery. The Bucks probably couldn't replace another 20-point scorer, but shooters can always be found.

 

So there you have their off-season needs, in order:

 

Backup center, backup point guard, shooting guard, and, oh yeah, for the 14th consecutive season since Vin Baker was traded, a legit power forward.

 

Although the Bucks won't have tons of salary cap space until a year from now, it's possible for them to fill all their immediate needs through the draft, free agency and trades to become a real player in a couple of seasons. They are actually in decent shape to build on what was started last season without taking unnecessary risks.

 

With the 15th pick, general manager John Hammond could move up, down or swap it to get Bogut a little help (Hassan Whiteside?) or choose any number of shooters, from Xavier Henry to Avery Bradley to Dominique Jones, who would be there at the bottom of the first round.

 

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[Jenneral]

I don't completely agree with everything in that post, but the underlying message is entirely true. That is that we need to take advantage of the draft in order to complete this team. I don't think a backup center and pointguard should be our #1 priorities though. If Salmons opts out and doesn't sign a new contract with us, we need to find another SG in the draft since it's highly unlikely Redd will be a go either. If Salmons does stay with us, we need to find a true starting PF. For me those are the two positions we should address in the draft (and possible free agency) before all others.