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At last month’s draft combine, there was some intel that the Bucks were operating as if they’d have “multiple picks” in this month’s NBA Draft. Now, the rumor didn’t specify whether or not they’d necessarily be first-round picks, but naturally, the first place many minds jumped to
was that the Bucks would net an additional first this month in a Giannis trade. However, there are some viable other options Milwaukee has in the first round.
There is a possibility they could trade down this year to obtain a future draft pick. For example, I’ve read some scuttlebutt online that OKC is interested in trading up from 12. If the Bucks are willing to move down two spots, perhaps they could receive one of the two firsts the Thunder controls next year (they also hold swap rights on a third and could receive a fourth if the Spurs somehow fall to 16th or lower). Milwaukee doesn’t have firsts in 2027 or 2029, but it seems like when this happens, the team trading up sends a first-rounder they own for the following year.
A likelier scenario with the Thunder is swapping no. 10 for their picks at 12 and 17, which came to them courtesy of the Clippers and Sixers. Charlotte is another possibility: they have their own pick at 14 and Orlando’s at 18. If either team wants to trade up, the Bucks should definitely listen. This is a loaded draft, and many of the prospects projected after about ninth could end up anywhere. If the Bucks are zeroed in on a particular guy, he might end up falling to them at 12th anyway, and then they’d have another mid-first selection to do with as they please.
I encourage you to read more about these names in our ongoing community draft board series. But for now, what should the Bucks do: stand pat or move down and pick up another selection?
