Milwaukee needs a new Braun
A popular player who has seemed to move up a bit in mocks in recent days, Christian Braun from Kansas officially lands at 24 to end our Brew Hoop Community Draft Board. Braun would not only bring a popular name back to Milwaukee, but he would be a welcome wing addition for a Milwaukee Bucks team that is looking to rebuild depth at the prime position across the NBA right now.
Braun made a considerable leap in his Junior year while helping lead Kansas to the national championship. It was a bit of everything across the board stat-wise for him, with 14.1 points, 6.5 boards and 2.8 assists per game. His shooting splits of 49.5/38.6/73.3 are more than acceptable, and while his 3-point shooting certainly took a leap his last year, he’s a career 37.8 shooter on 357 attempts across his college career. Tack on a 74.9% free throw mark, and there’s enough to work with there.
Everything I read about him always talks about his tenacity as an off-ball defender, as well as his ability to crash the glass. I can’t help but conjure up images of Pat Connaughton when envisioning the closeouts that pundits write about, and drafting anyone who reaches Connaughton’s level with the #24 picks seems like it would be a Godsend given the average outcome at this slot coupled with the Bucks horrid track record in the initial round of late. Apparently he passes up open looks occasionally, which I expect would be drilled out of him by the Bucks coaching staff showing him Jordan Nwora tape from the past two seasons. There may be some limited upside with Braun, but I like the potential as a switchable defender 1-4 who can hit some triples.
Among the other players in the poll, count me as someone a bit dubious of Jake LaRavia and Blake Wesley, while a bit higher on Justin Lewis or even Wendell Moore, who wasn’t in the poll.
That’ll do it for another edition of the Brew Hoop Community Draft Board. Thanks to everyone who participated, and stay tuned for more Bucks draft coverage leading up to the inevitable draft night trade selection by Jon Horst Thursday evening!
Final Brew Hoop 2022 Big Board
- Chet Holmgren
- Jabari Smith
- Paolo Banchero
- Jaden Ivey
- Keegan Murray
- Dyson Daniels
- Shaedon Sharpe
- Bennedict Mathurin
- A.J. Griffin
- Jalen Duren
- Johnny Davis
- Jeremy Sochan
- Ousmane Dieng
- Ochai Agbaji
- Mark Williams
- E.J. Liddell
- TyTy Washington Jr.
- Jalen Williams
- Malaki Branham
- Tari Eason
- Dalen Terry
- Nikola Jovic
- MarJon Beauchamp
- Christian Braun