Potential Favorite for Bucks' No. 33 Pick Emerging as Draft Approaches

The Milwaukee Bucks are entering the 2024 NBA Draft with the No. 23 and No. 33 overall picks. With the pressure on the front office to improve the roster around Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, what the Bucks will do at the draft remains one of the most important questions of their offseason.

With an aging, expensive roster that is lacking in depth, the Bucks need to find young, dynamic contributors under team control for multiple years. That is why it of utmost importance that Milwaukee nails these two draft picks.

Even though we still don't know which prospect the Bucks are leaning toward in the first round, reporter Gery Woelfel provided an insight into what they are thinking with their second-round selection. According to Woelfel, the Bucks are interested in drafting AJ Johnson with the No. 33 pick.

Bucks Rumors: Milwaukee Interested in AJ Johnson at No. 33

AJ Johnson, a 19-year-old California native, spent last season with the Illawarra Hawks of the Australian NBL. He is considered to be a raw prospect with impressive length, speed, and defensive upside. He has good size at 6'5 for a combo guard but needs to get stronger and more physical to make an impact in the NBA.

Even though Johnson is considered to have a ton of untapped potential, it's surprising to see that the Bucks would be interested in a developmental project. Milwaukee's title window is in the next two years, so they need immediate contributors. Usually, the second round of the draft is considered to be a good place to find older NBA-ready prospects, but the Bucks reportedly have a more future-focused approach to the draft.

Whether they end up selecting Johnson if he is available remains to be seen, but the Bucks can't afford to miss out on more prospects after they struggled to find contributors in the last few drafts.

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