The Milwaukee Bucks’ Summer League didn’t quite go as planned from a win-loss standpoint, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t takeaways from the five-game Las Vegas getaway.
Milwaukee went 2-3, dropping its first three games before winning its final two. That’s a big disappointment for a team that rostered as many as seven players who could see time with the Bucks in the NBA this season in Brayden Burries, Nate Ament, Bogie Markovic, Kasparas Jakucionis, Cormac Ryan, Kam Jones and Pete Nance.
However, the good news is that Milwaukee’s top pick in this year’s NBA draft was the best player every time he stepped on the court. Let’s start there with five takeaways from the Bucks’ Las Vegas Summer League.
Brayden Burries is the real deal
Picking in the top ten for the first time since 2016, all early signs point to Milwaukee getting a real one in Burries with the 10th overall pick.
Burries showed off a great blend of strength, ball-handling, and shot-making to keep defenders on their toes. As a result, he was able to flash scoring abilities from the paint, the mid-range, and even behind the arc.
He also showed off his defensive chops. He has sticky hands that seem to find the ball on that end of the court, with some Jrue Holiday-like traits. That will be a huge boost for a team trying to establish a new identity in a post-Giannis era.
Nate Ament needs to add strength
Ament got off to a slow start in summer league, practically invisible during the Bucks’ first three games before coming on strong over their last two.
One of Ament’s biggest challenges early in his career will be his ability to handle physicality at the NBA level. He’s listed at 6-foot-10 and 207 pounds, and he plays like it.
Defenders are able to knock him off his spot on drives and force him into tough, contested shots. Thankfully, Ament has the length to shoot over players, but he’ll have to add strength if he wants to survive long-term in the Association.
Bogie Markovic still has a ways to go
Markovic got off to a fast start in the California Classic opener, dropping 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists. He also showed off his three-point shooting chops, going 4-for-7 from behind the arc against the Phoenix Suns and 3-of-5 against the Charlotte Hornets.
However, his offensive game disappeared in between those appearances. He’ll need to work on his consistency on that end, especially with his outside shot, if he wants to carve out a role off the bench any time soon.
Perhaps, his biggest room for growth comes on the defensive end. He lacks the lateral quickness to stay with quicker forwards and isn’t quite strong or big enough to bang with true centers. He also needs to improve his effort.
That leaves him in a challenging defensive position. Milwaukee will likely place him in the G-League for a season or two as he works to develop his defensive identity.
Kasparas Jakucionis was disappointing
Kasparas Jakucionis was reportedly the sticking point between the Bucks and Miami Heat during the Giannis trade discussions. However, Milwaukee must’ve won out, as Jakucionis is now with the Bucks.
Fans who have never seen Jakucionis play before were left wondering why Milwaukee wanted him in the first place. In two games, he averaged just nine points and five assists in just under 22 minutes per game. Even worse, he shot a nasty 26.3 percent from the field.
Jakucionis has a lot more to offer as a playmaker. Hopefully, Milwaukee doesn’t get this version of him in the regular season.
Everyone else failed to stand out
Part of the reason the Bucks struggled as a team was their lack of consistent contributors outside of Burries. He had very little dependable help from game to game.
We already touched on a couple of the up-and-down performances. However, players like Cormac Ryan, Kam Jones, Malique Lewis, and Rafael Castro were supposed to contribute this summer but failed to step up.
That leaves Milwaukee with little clarity on what it has in any of those guys right now. There are opportunities to crack the edge of the rotation for those who cement themselves as two-way players. However, they’ll have to show up differently if they want to take advantage.
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