Bucks Linked to Center in Draft Amid Brook Lopez Trade Rumors

The Milwaukee Bucks might be one of the busier teams during the 2024 NBA Draft as they could look to trade their first-round pick (No. 23 overall) to bring them a quality player. 

The Bucks have had countless players mentioned in trade rumors over the past week, including veteran center Brook Lopez. The 36-year-old Lopez reportedly has several suitors interested in his services, leading to the question of what the Bucks will do at the center spot.

If the Bucks ultimately decide to trade Lopez before the draft or during the first round, it likely wouldn’t be in their best interest to move the No. 23 overall pick. Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported on Tuesday that rival teams have been left with the impression that the Bucks could find their long-term center replacement at No. 23.

Coincidentally, ESPN’s latest mock draft has the Bucks taking Duke big man Kyle Filipowski, while Bleacher Report’s mock has Milwaukee going with Cal wing Jaylon Tyson. 

Bucks Rumors: Milwaukee Wanted to Workout DaRon Holmes II

Nonetheless, there is another big man who has received a ton of buzz in the draft process and could be the perfect replacement for Lopez. According to Fischer, the Bucks attempted to bring in Dayton standout DaRon Holmes II for a workout, but he declined the workout.

It was speculated that the 6-foot-8 forward received a draft promise from the Denver Nuggets, who have the No. 28 overall pick in the draft.

However, Fischer dismissed that idea, stating that wasn’t the case and there wasn’t a guarantee that Denver would take Holmes. Fischer also said that league personnel have connected Holmes to the Sacramento Kings.

Holmes was one of the best players in the A-10 this past season, averaging 20.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.1 blocks per game. 

The A-10 Player of the Year also shot 54.4 percent from the field and a career-best 38.6 percent from three-point, which has a lot of NBA teams intrigued. Based on Holmes’ skillset, he could be a quality fit next to Giannis Antetokounmpo as Milwaukee would have two frontcourt players that can do a little bit of everything on the floor.

Nonetheless, we are still determining how the 2024 NBA Draft will pan out as we could have a bunch of trades and moves up and down the board. For the Bucks, if they don’t move out of No. 23, they need to find a young player who can contribute immediately, and Holmes could be that player.

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