What exactly are the long-term prospects for the Milwaukee Bucks?
The Milwaukee Bucks’ championship window is closing; are they set up for a long period of failure thereafter?
The Milwaukee Bucks picked 6-foot-5 guard AJ Johnson No. 23 in the NBA draft on Wednesday night. Bucks general manager Jon Horst said the intention is to sign Johnson and have him on the roster for the 2024-25 season.
Johnson, 19, is a native of Fresno, California. He played for the Illawarra Hawks of the Australian National Basketball League. He was initially going to play for entertainer Kanye West’s Donda Academy in high school, but when the school closed he finished his prep career at Southern California Academy.
He originally committed to play at the University of Texas but then elected to go pro. Johnson played less than eight minutes per game and averaged just over two points per game.
Horst noted that Johnson has been one of the United States’ top high school recruits for some time before ultimately deciding to go to Australia. Horst felt that even with his limited playing time, Johnson showed elite speed, an ability to change his pace and had a strong mental state in getting through a tough first professional season.
“We’re really excited about AJ,” Horst said. “When he plays and how quickly he develops and how quickly he earns his opportunity is to be determined, but this is a player with great athleticism and speed, talent. Love his mentality, toughness, so we’re really excited.”
Johnson, who attended the draft at the Barclays Center in New York, said afterward that he had one of his best pre-draft workouts with the Bucks.
“Even in the interviews at the combine and stuff like that, the interviews went really well,” Johnson added. “They just seemed like they had my best interests and they really liked me. So yeah, I kind of felt a little bit like Milwaukee would be the team that would want me.”
The Bucks have developed a pipeline of sorts to Australia, as they signed Jaylin Galloway out of the NBL to a two-way contract last season.
“He’s grown up − you mention Jaylin − grown up playing against pros, which I think is great for him,” Horst said of Johnson. “Although he didn’t play a lot last year in the really competitive NBL in Australia, he grew a lot. Physically he grew a low, mentally he grew a lot. You could see the improvements as you study his film and you watched him.”
This is also not the first time the Bucks have taken a California teenager after one season abroad. The Bucks picked Brandon Jennings No. 10 in the 2009 draft after the point guard spent a year playing professionally in Italy. Jennings, however, played nearly 20 minutes per game for Lottomatica Roma.
Horst was part of that pre-draft process and said that while they are different players, there was a callback to Jennings when scouting Johnson.
“100%,” Horst said.
“Went and played against pros, European pros at a young age in Lottomatica. And the thing that was stunning about Brandon then and really helped him wasn’t being big, strong. Brandon was probably 165 pounds and was 6-2, maybe 6-3 when we drafted him. It was his speed. Brandon had incredible speed, incredible shiftiness, real competitive nature. So, yeah, I’m not saying that they’re the same player at all but there are some similarities to that and a callback in this process.”
Did the Bucks consider trading the pick?
Horst said there was “controlled chaos” until the team decided to select Johnson. That chaos included discussions about trading the pick.
“All those things were considered right down to the wire,” he said. “Have been, always are, and then we made the decision we thought was best.”
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Christine Lake is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. With an extensive background in sports journalism, he covers everything from major league championships to grassroots sports events. When she’s not on the field or at the stadium, you’ll find Christine coaching youth sports teams.
