As the 2016 NBA Draft is only a few hours away, let’s look back at the Milwaukee Bucks 1st round draft picks since 2000…
2000 – Jason Collier (15th) Georgia Tech. Collier was traded with a future 1st round pick to Houston for Joel Przybilla (9th overall). The 2000 draft was flat out terrible as Kenyon Martin (who played for the Bucks late in his career), Jamaal Magloire (more on him later), and Michael Redd (who the Bucks drafted in the 2nd round with the 43rd pick) would become the only All-Stars out of this draft.
2001 – No 1st round pick (traded to Houston as part of the Przybilla deal).
2002 – Marcus Haislip (13th) Tennessee. If the Bucks were looking for a power forward, they should have selected Carlos Boozer, who went in the 2nd round (35th pick) to Cleveland. The Bucks were actually rumored to be interested in signing Boozer (a free-agent) last December when they were looking for a veteran presence, but no deal was ever made.
Haislip – BUST! (BTW…who’s the guy sitting in the background?)
2003 – T.J. Ford (8th) Texas. Injuries limited Ford’s time in Milwaukee. Of the point guards drafted behind Ford, only Mo Williams would ever go on to become an All-Star. Williams actually played for the Bucks from 2004-08, and just won his first championship with Cleveland.
2004 – No 1st round pick (traded to Denver in 2001 along with Scott Williams so the Bucks could make room for Anthony Mason…one of the worst decisions the organization has ever made).
2005 – Andrew Bogut (1st) Utah. Solid pick. Injuries derailed his time with the Bucks…and this really hurt! Was traded to Golden State during 2011-12 season. Bogut won a title with Golden State last season. Imagine if Milwaukee had selected Chris Paul with this pick instead…just imagine!
2006 – No 1st round pick (traded to New Orleans/Oklahoma City along with Desmond Mason and cash in exchange for Jamaal Magliore…full circle here!).
2007 – Yi Jianlian (6th) Guangdong Southern Tigers (China). AWFUL! Joakim Noah (9th to Chicago) should have been the pick, but the Bucks were scared off when Noah said he’d never play in Milwaukee. Marc Gasol taken 48th in the 2nd round was the only other player in this draft taken after Noah that would go on to become an All-Star.
Yi – BUST! (The furthest thing from Yao Ming.)
2008 – Joe Alexander (8th) West Virginia. ANOTHER swing and a miss! Brook Lopez (10th), Roy Hibbert (17th), DeAndre Jordan (35th), or Goran Dragic (45th) would have been MUCH better selections.
Alexander – BUST! (Is he even spinning those basketballs?)
2009 – Brandon Jennings (10th) Lottomatica Roma (Italy). Jennings’ career started out well for the Bucks, but he was eventually traded to Detroit in 2013. A deal that saw Milwaukee get Brandon Knight and Khris Middleton…and Vyacheslav Kravtsov? Point guards selected after Jennings that became All-Stars were Jrue Holiday (17th) and Jeff Teague (19th). The Bucks actually signed Teague to an offer sheet in 2013, but Atlanta matched it.
2010 – Larry Sanders (15th) VCU. Sanders seemed to be a steal at 15…until 2013, when he signed a four-year $44 million contract. Everything went downhill from there. Sanders is currently out of the league…and Milwaukee is still paying him.
2011 – Jimmer Fredette (10th) BYU. Traded to the Kings on draft night in a three-team deal as the Bucks ended up with Beno Udrich from the Kings and Stephen Jackson, Shaun Livingston and the draft rights to 19th pick Tobias Harris from the Bobcats. I wish the Bucks had just stayed at 10 and drafted Klay Thompson (11th), Kawhi Leonard (15th), or Jimmy Butler (30th). Huge miss here!
2012 – John Henson (14th) North Carolina. Decent pick, but would have preferred Draymond Green, who went in the 2nd round at pick 35 to Golden State.
2013 – Giannis Antetokounmpo (15th) Filathlitikos B.C. (Greece). HOME RUN! No complaints. Giannis likely would go #1 overall if that draft was done over.
2014 – Jabari Parker (2nd) Duke. Again, no complaints. Parker should be even better next season now that he is fully recovered from his ACL injury.
2015 – Rashad Vaughn (17th) UNLV. Still too early to tell.
2016 – We shall find out very soon (hearing many different names at the 10th selection), but looking at the past history, you quickly come to realize that…NOTHING IS GUARANTEED! So, good luck tonight Milwaukee! #OwnTheFuture