As of right now, the Milwaukee Bucks have the 23rd and 33rd picks in the 2024 NBA Draft. When reviewing their roster and salary cap situation heading into the offseason, the Bucks will need to find contributors either with rookie contracts or veteran minimums, so there could be opportunities for young players on next season’s roster.
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That reality raises an important question for next season. It’s a question many of our readers asked in our Bucks mailbag in the off-season, as well as one that has appeared repeatedly in the comments section of stories. With so much discussion, we decided to take the question out of the mail folder and delve deeper into the topic.
The question: Will Doc Rivers play against rookies in his first full season as Bucks head coach?
While it’s noteworthy to consider how much he played with the team’s young talent upon taking over as head coach in January, it was understandable for a new coach to lean on veterans who could learn new concepts on the fly and execute new game plans midway through. on the way. the season. If the roster is built the way it appears it will be for the 2024-25 season, whether it’s players already on the roster or rookies drafted, the Bucks will need young players who can contribute, and Rivers suggested the same during his interview. exit after the Bucks’ loss to the Indiana Pacers in the first round.
“This is a huge summer,” Rivers said of the team’s young players. “But it’s also a big summer for our staff because we have to develop them. I’m a big believer in development and we’ve got to do a better job of developing those guys, because I think that’s on us and we’ve got work to do.”
For now, those are just words. To get a better look at how the Bucks’ draft picks could be used in Milwaukee next season, we took a comprehensive look at Rivers’ history as a head coach playing with rookies. Taking into account the different circumstances surrounding the beginning of their careers, “young player” is a somewhat difficult term to define. Instead of expanding the scope to include players in their second and third seasons, let’s focus on rookies and the idea of players selected in this year’s draft potentially becoming rotation players for the Bucks next season.
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Before taking over the Bucks midway through last season, Rivers had coached 23 full NBA seasons for four different teams. That included four seasons with the Orlando Magic from 1999 to 2004, nine with the Boston Celtics from 2004 to 2013, seven with the Los Angeles Clippers from 2013 to 2020 and three with the Philadelphia 76ers from 2020 to 2023.
In those 23 seasons, Rivers coached 39 rookies from the beginning to the end of the season. Here’s what you need to know about those newbies:
- Veterans who played overseas and then played “rookie” seasons in the NBA for a Rivers-led team like Chucky Atkins, Pat Burke, Greg Stiemsma and Miloš Teodosić were not included in that total.
- Rookies who were released by the team midseason, such as Lester Hudson and Kris Joseph, were not included in that total.
- Rookies who were traded midseason were not included in that total. It didn’t matter if they were rookies transferred from a Rivers-led team, like Luke Harangody and Semih Erden, or rookies added to a Rivers-led team, like Landry Shamet, who once started playoff games as a rookie for Rivers. he joined the Clippers.
- That total included players who suffered injuries during their rookie season, such as Jared Sullinger and Brice Johnson.
Of those 39 rookies, 22 were selected in the first round. However, because Rivers has only two seasons with a sub-.500 regular-season record (2005-06 and 2006-07) on his resume, only four of those 22 first-round picks were lottery picks. .
When looking at the playing time of the 39 rookies, here’s what stands out:
- Nine players (Corey Maggette, Mike Miller, Al Jefferson, Tony Allen, Ryan Gomes, Orien Greene, Rajon Rondo, Sindarius Thornwell and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) played more than 1,000 minutes as rookies.
- Miller (2,390 minutes in the 2000-01 season) and Gilgeous-Alexander (2,174 minutes in the 2018-19 season) were the only rookies to play at least 2,000 minutes as a rookie for Rivers.
- Thirteen rookies appeared in at least 50 games for Rivers.
- Four rookies (Miller, Delonte West, Allen and Gilgeous-Alexander) started playoff games for Rivers as rookies, and three others (Jefferson, Glen Davis and Jerome Robinson) played rotation minutes in playoff series for Rivers. (Landry Shamet started playoff games as a rookie for Rivers after he, too, was traded to the Clippers during the 2018-19 season.)
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Ultimately, while 13 of 39 rookies appearing in at least 50 games may not seem like a lot, it’s important to remember the success rate of rookies selected outside of the lottery. Once you get out of the top 15 draft picks, teams find rotation or better players at a rate of 25 to 30 percent.
Some quick thoughts:
Let’s start with the dream killer. @SethPartnow. pic.twitter.com/6kJHMsZumM
—Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) July 30, 2021
Finding an impact player between the 23rd and 33rd picks in the 2024 NBA Draft will be a difficult proposition for the Bucks, as it’s difficult to identify the right prospects late in the first round and early on. of the second round. It’s also difficult for coaches to figure out how to use those players in their first NBA seasons, especially on teams expected to compete for an NBA championship, but it’s not impossible.
If the Bucks can identify the right rookies and put the right plan in place for their development, they may find a rookie who can play real rotation minutes. Rivers has shown that, even if he doesn’t do it all the time, he is willing to play against rookies and give them a chance to earn more playing time.
Now, the Bucks just have to find the right players.
(Photo of Doc Rivers and Andre Jackson Jr.: Ron Hoskins/NBE via /Keynote USA/Getty Images)
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