D'Amato: Horst follows Bucks' draft blueprint
ST. FRANCIS – Having apprenticed under John Hammond for nine years and a general manager for not quite one week, Jon Horst wasn’t going to stray too far from the Milwaukee Bucks’ draft philosophy.
And so his selection of Michigan’s D.J. Wilson with the 17th pick in the first round Thursday night shouldn’t have come as a surprise.
The 6-foot-10 Wilson has a 7-3 wingspan. Giannis Antetokounmpo 2.0? At 234 pounds, he’s got an NBA-ready body and athleticism. Jabari Parker Lite? Wilson also checks the Bucks’ all-important versatility box. He’s a prototypical stretch four, with the requisite combination of length and skill.
Horst, 34, a largely anonymous front-office type until the Bucks’ owners raised eyebrows by promoting him – even Wes Edens admitted the search process was “sloppy” – vowed earlier this week that “we are going to get No. 17 right.”
Of course, nobody knows if they did, and it might take a couple years to find out. Wilson probably won’t get a ton of minutes in the Bucks’ crowded frontcourt in 2017-’18, unless Horst un-crowds it by moving somebody. The team is up against the salary cap, so that’s a distinct possibility.
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Otherwise, Wilson – with the descriptive Twitter handle @Lanky_Smoove – can learn from the lanky and smoove Antetokounmpo and veterans John Henson and Greg Monroe.
Wilson wasn’t among the 86 players the Bucks worked out this spring and was something of an enigma in the weeks leading up to the draft. He kept a low profile and hasn’t conducted a media interview since mid-May.
A redshirt sophomore at Michigan, Wilson was a late bloomer who was injured often in high school and college. Prior to this past season, he had scored 72 points and grabbed 24 rebounds in 31 games and had never played more than 15 minutes against a Division 1 team.
He came off the bench early in the 2016-’17 season and nobody – certainly no NBA scouts – pegged him as a first-round draft pick.
As the season progressed, however, he started playing like he wanted to get paid someday and by the end of the year he’d shot up draft boards.
Wilson dropped 26 points and eight rebounds on Caleb Swanigan and Purdue in the Big Ten tournament. He scored 19 points and blocked four shots in a 92-91 victory over Oklahoma State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He followed that up with 17 points and three blocks in a third-round, 73-69 victory over Louisville.
It wasn’t a huge sample size, but it was bigger than those of Antetokounmpo and Thon Maker. Wilson was projected to be a late first-round pick, but the Bucks saw a player who would help them eventually, if not immediately.
He is far from a finished product. He tends to fall in love with his fade-away jumper. He doesn’t attack the rim consistently and averaged just 5.3 rebounds last year. Some have accused him of playing soft and shying away from contact.
But if he’s a project, he’s coming to the right place. The Bucks’ coaching staff can bring him along slowly. The veterans will push him around in practice until he sharpens his elbows. Khris Middleton’s work ethic and Antetokounmpo’s intensity will rub off on him.
If those things happen, the Bucks will have a player.
If they don't, Horst's first big move as GM will be a whiff.