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The 2023 NBA Draft has come and gone and the next step for the players drafted is getting to showcase themselves in Las Vegas next month at the NBA Summer League. For a team like the Milwaukee Bucks, they had to do some real scouting and background work to find potential impact players as they did not have a first round draft pick. The Bucks did have two second round NBA Draft picks at No. 36 and No. 58. They used those picks to select Andre Jackson from UConn and Chris Livingston from Kentucky. The Bucks are a team with championship aspirations so it's unlikely either of these draft picks sees significant playing time, but what does the team have in these two players?
Andre Jackson Jr.
With the luxury tax and salary cap issues, second round draft picks have become a lot more valuable than they were before. It's a chance to grab a potentially productive player on a fairly cheap contract. The Bucks may have done just that with Andre Jackson Jr. First off, he comes from a team with a championship pedigree in the 2023 NCAA champion Huskies. Jackson played three seasons at UConn and gradually become a productive player. He was a regular starter averaging 6.0 points per game, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steals.
Jackson will likely see most of his playing time next season with the Wisconsin Herd, the Bucks G League affiliate. With NBA teams now allowed three two-way contracts under the new CBA, he is a prime candidate for one of those spots. He's athletic and has good size for a wing. He has some playmaking to his game and the G League is a good place for him to get some reps as a primary ball-handler. He's a defensive standout as well and that's a skill that should translate right away. His three-point shooting efficiency was never very high in college but that's something that can be worked on.
Chris Livingston
Chris Livingston is the real intriguing prospect of the Bucks two draft picks. He didn't quite have much of a standout season in his lone year at Kentucky and the consensus was he may have declared for the draft too early. Nevertheless, he went about working out for teams in advance of the draft in hopes of showcasing himself in ways he was unable to in college. He unexpectedly cancelled his remaining workouts in the days leading up to the draft and it was speculated that it was due to a draft promise from an unnamed team. If that's true, then that team was the Bucks who had the last pick in the NBA Draft.
Coming into the draft, the Bucks only had one pick at No. 58 before the traded for another pick at No. 36. If the promise rumor was true, Livingston must have really liked what he heard from the Bucks to justify allowing every other team to pass on him until the very end. It's not a bad spot for him to land though. He too is a prime candidate for a two-way contract and will see the majority of his game action in the G League.
As far as what Livingston brings to the team, he is first and foremost a work in progress. He is athletic and raw but the tools are there. He has a big frame and he can handle the ball and is comfortable with being a primary playmaker or shot creator. He's a strong versatile defensive player as well. The Wisconsin Herd will be perfect place for him to hone his shot selection and get live reps and the Bucks potentially have a key contributor for seasons to come.
