SBNation NBA Mock Draft, Pick #10: Milwaukee Bucks

by Scott Schroeder on Jun 17, 2009 10:00 AM EDT

With the tenth pick in the 2009 SBNation Mock Draft, the Milwaukee Bucks, represented by Brewhoop, select... (Drum Roll please)

From BrewHoop: The unassailable, incontrovertible moral high ground of drafting philosophy can be summed up in three letters: BPA. Take the best player, the theory goes, and you will never be left wanting. Which leaves but a single problem...figuring out which guy actually is the best.

At number ten it seems particularly challenging, since the draft's only clear future star will be long gone. And with DeRozan, Rubio, and Evans also off the board, the dynamic youngsters are also no longer an option. That makes the notion of being more practical and considering need a bit more reasonable...especially when all the remaining guys start to look equally flawed. Given the Bucks' wait-and-see approach to re-signing RFAs Ramon Sessions and Charlie Villanueva, the obvious need positions are clear.

Among point guards, Jonny Flynn has been getting buzz as high as #4 after being an early favorite for the Bucks' slot. We like the 40" vertical and I suppose intangibles are a nice quality in a PG, right? Then again, he's also a pretty tiny dude who committed a ton of turnovers and didn't shoot particularly well at Syracuse. What about the bigs? No matter how much I try to fight it, I have a sweet spot for DeJuan Blair, but all the talk about his knees potentially imploding is a bit worrisome for a lottery pick who doesn't bring a superstar ceiling. Which brings us to our pick, Arizona power forward Jordan Hill. No one seems to think he's got superstar talent, but then again at #10 you're not usually going to find it. What he does have is legit PF size, athleticism, motor, and enough skill to put up 18/11 in the Pac-10. If he can work on his 15-foot jump shot he'll look pretty good next to Andrew Bogut, and Scott Skiles should also appreciate his willingness to mix it up and work down low.

Nabbing Hill also fulfills an ulterior motive for Alex and myself: leaving room for Ramon Sessions to return at the point. Allowing that to affect our draft strategy could be considered blasphemous by the BPA gods, but given the lack of differentiation among most of the players available...well, we're OK with it. And if the Bucks do draft a PG later this month, that's also fine--the Bucks just need to make sure he really is the "best" guy on the board.

The 2009 SB Nation Mock Draft so far:

1. Los Angeles Clippers - Clips Nation: Blake Griffin

2. Memphis Grizzlies - 3 Shades of Blue: Ricky Rubio

3. Oklahoma City Thunder - Welcome to Loud City: James Harden

4. Sacramento Kings - Sactown Royalty: Tyreke Evans

5. Washington Wizards - Bullets Forever: Hasheem Thabeet

6. Minnesota Timberwolves - Canis Hoopus: Stephen Curry

7. Golden State Warriors - Golden State of Mind: Brandon Jennings

8. New York Knicks - Posting and Toasting: Jrue Holiday

9. Toronto Raptors - Holly MacKenzie: DeMar DeRozan

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Whoever wrote that is a goddamn genius :)

From a realistic standpoint, I’d guess the Bucks’ actual pick will probably be Hill, Holiday, Flynn, or maybe Blair (in some order of preference). Then you have guys like Clark and Hansbrough who should be there but haven’t been in for workouts, so who knows what that means.

www.BrewHoop.com

by Frank Madden on Jun 17, 2009 11:36 AM EDT reply actions

Nice pick

Just curious… what does the team have against Sessions? It seems like take minutes from him whenever they can, no matter who they have to play instead.

Does the taking of Hill mean the end of Villanueva’s run in Milwaukee?

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by UtesFan89 on Jun 17, 2009 11:53 AM EDT reply actions

At least he'll have more time to Twitter on the bench.

by Aisander D on Jun 17, 2009 11:55 AM EDT up reply actions

The Sessions situation is kind of weird, and I’m not altogether clear what the Bucks are thinking as we head into free agency. Villanueva’s situation is a bit more clear, as it doesn’t seem like the Bucks braintrust has ever been in love with his game and they could also bring back Ersan Ilyasova for cheaper help at PF.

I can understand some of Skiles’ hesitation in handing Sessions big minutes at the beginning of the season given a) he still makes mental mistakes on defense and b) he doesn’t space the floor with his jump shot, which is a problem when you’re playing him with a bunch of offensively talented guys (Redd, Jefferson, Bogut). It’s possible they were also trying to hide him a bit so that he’d be more affordable this offseason, though all the injuries blew that plan up in a hurry.

At this point they’re playing it coy with regard to Sessions, and they won’t have much room under the tax to re-sign him as things currently stand. Maybe they’re just waiting to see what happens in the draft, and you have to think they’ll try to move Ridnour at some point since he’s expiring and could be used to shed a small amount of cap space. Obviously if they pick a big in the lottery then re-signing Sessions would seem pretty important, but even if they take a PG I think it’d be a shame to let him walk given everything he’s shown the past season plus. Fortunately he can’t be offered more than the MLE as a starting salary, but that would still put the Bucks over the tax (at least temporarily).

www.BrewHoop.com

by Frank Madden on Jun 17, 2009 1:04 PM EDT up reply actions