Milwaukee Bucks: The 2018 NBA Draft will make or break the team

The 2018 NBA Draft will play a large role in determining the future of the Milwaukee Bucks. How will they handle the pressure?

Five years ago, the whole outlook of the Milwaukee Bucks changed when they took a huge gamble on a guy named Giannis Antetokounmpo with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. Nobody knew much about Antetokounmpo at the time because he played in a relatively discreet league that was nowhere near the level of the NBA. However, he’s on the verge of turning into the greatest player in franchise history.

This year, the Bucks hold the 17th overall selection and face another critical juncture in their franchise’s history. They made the playoffs for the second consecutive season and pushed the Boston Celtics to seven games in the first round. However, it became apparent they are still short on firepower and need to re-up in the offseason, as anybody associated with or following the franchise will be happy with a first-round exit in 2019.

That’s where the 2018 NBA Draft comes in. It begins on Thursday, June 21 at 6 pm CT. ESPN will be airing the draft and ESPN 2 will have additional coverage at the same time as well. Make sure you tune in to see what the Bucks will do.

The 17th pick that they hold has produced mixed results over the years, but is certainly a position capable of producing a talented player. Shawn Kemp, Jermaine O’Neal, Jrue Holiday and Dennis Schroder are a few past selections just to name a few.

Of course, the other end of the spectrum is just as possible, as the Bucks know all too well. This will be the third time in the last four years the Bucks have held the 17th overall pick. They have probably whiffed the previous two times, drafting Rashad Vaughn in 2015 and D.J.Wilson in 2017. But they can’t afford to do that again.

The 2018-19 salary cap is set at $101 million and the Bucks are projected to have a team payroll of $108 million. They have until $123 million until they start paying into the luxury tax. They could quickly move toward that direction depending on what happens with Jabari Parker and his restricted free agency, adding their first round pick and if they decide to use all the $8 plus million allocated to them for the mid-level exception.

Barring any dramatic moves this offseason or next, their salary cap situation won’t be improving in the next couple of seasons. That makes this first round pick even more critical. Draft picks are some of the best assets in the NBA, because they enter the league on multi-year, controllable and, most importantly, cheap contracts. And that’s exactly what the Bucks need.

In order for them to compete with the likes of the Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference, they need to maximize all their opportunities at acquiring talented players. Especially cheap ones. In short, they need to hit on these picks in order to have any semblance of competing for the Eastern Conference Finals nonetheless an NBA Title.

General Manager Jon Horst and his staff certainly know all of this and have done their homework leading up to the draft. With the pressure on, with the Bucks turn into a diamond or will they melt under the heat.