Bucks select Michigan's D.J. Wilson with 17th pick in NBA draft

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Michigan Wolverines forward D.J. Wilson celebrates in the closing seconds of a victory over the Wisconsin Badgers last March.

The Milwaukee Bucks may have a new general manager, but the mindset behind their draft picks has apparently not changed much.

Already known as a ridiculously long, versatile team, the Milwaukee Bucks stayed true to that DNA on Thursday night when GM Jon Horst used the team's first-round pick to select D.J. Wilson out of Michigan — Horst's first major decision since being promoted less than a week ago.

“D.J. has been at the top of our list for a long time," Horst said. "He’s been there steadily. There was a couple other guys in that range and in that discussion, and until the guy gets there, you never know. So, we felt fairly confident that he was going to get to 17, but until 16 went, we weren’t really sure. When he got there, we were excited and happy with the result.”

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Wilson, a 6-foot-10, 234-pound forward from Sacramento, Calif. whose initials stand for DeVante Jaylen, was the first pick of the night who wasn't in attendance at Brooklyn's Barclays Center. That follows a pre-draft process where Wilson was largely out of the public eye, steering clear of media interviews since the NBA draft combine. He was not one of the 86 players the Bucks hosted for workouts over the past seven weeks.

It's clear the Bucks were keeping an eye on him and liked what they saw. They went to his agency's pro day and according to Horst "spent some time with him beyond that."

Wilson adds to the Bucks' length with his 7-foot-3 wingspan — a stretch that matches those of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Thon Maker. He's a player, who like multiple others on Milwaukee's roster, defies positional designation. Wilson, who went though a late, four-inch growth spurt, projects as someone who can play in the post at both ends – including offering solid shot-blocking instincts on the defensive end — and is comfortable making plays on the perimeter, either with his shot or ability to put the ball on the floor.

“Positional versatility," Horst said when asked what set Wilson apart. "When we looked at D.J., we saw a player that we felt could play the four and maybe some days he could play the five. He has the offensive skillset to play the three, so we really see a lot of positional versatility with D.J.”

Bucks coach Jason Kidd also pointed to versatility when asked about Wilson. He sees a potent offensive player who can attack the basket in numerous ways and keep up with the Bucks' transition game.

One of the knocks on Wilson has been his rebounding and bent for shying away from contact. When it comes to the rebounds, Kidd said even that fit well with his squad.

“He fits; we don’t rebound the ball," Kidd said with a laugh. “I’m just joking. He has the ability to improve. D.J. and the rest of the team. The things that he brings — blocking shots, being able to be 6-foot-10, use your length — that’s our DNA.

"Hopefully he can do those things that we see. He’s going to work extremely hard, but again, when you talk about today’s NBA, there is no position. You look at the finals, there is no center. So, that’s what we’re trying to build here.”

Wilson took an interesting route to Michigan. He dealt with a stress fracture of the fifth lumbar vertebra in his lower back during his sophomore and junior seasons at Capital Christian School in Sacramento. However, his play during his senior season was enough to merit multiple scholarship offers, including the one he ultimately took at Michigan.

After a sprained left knee led him to medically redshirt his freshman year in 2014-'15, Wilson slowly came on at Michigan before bursting onto the scene this past season. He averaged 11.0 points 5.3 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 assists per game in 2016-'17 while shooting 53.8% from the floor and 37.3% from three-point range.

Basketball fans in Wisconsin likely saw Wilson play this past season as the Wolverines made a run to the Sweet 16. He played three games against Wisconsin, struggling in the first two before going off for 17 in the Big Ten tournament. Earlier in the season, he put up a double-double — 10 points and 12 rebounds — against Marquette.

Horst did not see Wilson's past injuries as an issue that would impact him in the long term. Instead, he saw them as part of the story of Wilson's upward trajectory, which culminated in a standout, efficient season in 2016-'17.

“You look at a player who had to redshirt early on in his career, got a little bit better the next year, got a little bit better at the start of this season and really exploded near the end," Horst said. "We did a lot of studying and our analytics guys actually looked at his year this year, and he played with the same effectiveness for most of the year, which was really interesting to us.

"He just started using the ball a lot more as the season went on. So, we know he can be efficient in any role — whether he’s using the ball a lot or using the ball a little bit. So that was really interesting to us, as well.”

In Milwaukee, Wilson will join what is now a loaded frontcourt. Following Greg Monroe's decision to opt into the final year of his contract, Wilson will join Monroe, Maker, John Henson and possibly Spencer Hawes — who has a $6 million player option to mull. That doesn't include Antetokounmpo and injured forward Jabari Parker, who have the size of traditional power forwards but games that are aren't quite traditional.

Finding minutes for all of those big men could prove difficult. Before the Bucks get to that point, they'll have to figure out how to shape their roster without going into the luxury tax.

Earlier this week, reports came out that this year's salary-cap bump will be lower than expected at about $99 million with the tax line at about $119 million. With Monroe's choice, the Bucks were already north of the salary cap and could push right up against — and possibly over — the tax should they reach an agreement with restricted free agent Tony Snell without making any other moves.

Managing that aspect of the roster will be the next step for Horst as he turns his attention away from the draft and toward free agency, which begins with the dawn of the new league year on July 1.

Interestingly enough, Horst's first pick as Bucks GM has a tie to that of his mentor, John Hammond. In their first drafts in Milwaukee, each took a player who had played college basketball for head coach John Beilein. Hammond's choice in 2008 was Joe Alexander out of West Virginia with the No. 8 overall pick.

Alexander was a bust in the NBA, playing just one season with the Bucks and then eight games with the Bulls in his second and final season in the league.

Beilein, as would be expected, had nothing but effusive praise for Wilson on Thursday in a statement released by Michigan.

"I love the perseverance that D.J. showed throughout his three years at Michigan," Beilein said. "He worked so hard as a redshirt freshman and then again as a role player in his sophomore year. He spent countless hours those first two seasons getting stronger and working with our coaches to improve. All that work paid off this season as D.J. had a tremendous year. ...

"I know D.J. will bring that same work ethic to the NBA. The best is yet to come."

The Bucks reportedly made multiple moves in the second round. First, they acquired the No. 46 pick from the Philadelphia 76ers and picked up Sterling Brown, a 6-foot-6 guard out of SMU. Brown, who played all four years in college, was a 45.1% three-point shooter on 284 attempts.

Brown has multiple ties to Milwaukee. His former SMU teammate, Harry Froling, transferred to Marquette this past season. Back in high school at Proviso East in Maywood, Ill., his sophomore and junior seasons ended against Jabari Parker and Simeon Career Academy in the state playoffs.

The Bucks did not retain the 48th pick, instead they sold it to the Los Angeles Clippers who received the draft rights to South Carolina's Sindarius Thornwell. The move was officially announced by the Bucks after midnight.

Horst did not discuss either of the second-round moves Thursday night when he met with the media.

“There’s transactions still pending there, so we’ll have more information on that in the coming days," Horst said. "Right now, there’s a transaction pending.”