Building The 15 - 2013 NBA Draft Second Round Preview for John Hammond

Last month I gave Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond my 10 Point Plan for how he should approach the off-season.  So far Hammond has only followed one piece of my advice when he picked up the team's $1.5 million option on center Gustavo Ayon for next season.

Of the nine remaining pieces of advice, Hammond was unable to deliver on two of them.  First, he hired Larry Drew as the next head coach instead of hiring a younger and cheaper defensive-minded coach.  Second, despite offering a two-year, $25 million extension to entice shooting guard Monta Ellis to exercise his $11 million player option for next season, Ellis opted-out of the last year of his contract with the Bucks.  Let me be clear, I wanted the Bucks to have Ellis on an $11 million expiring contract as a trade asset but paying Ellis $36 million over the next three seasons is way too much for a high-volume shooter that is a below average defender.

That leave seven pieces of advice that might or might not be followed.  Ironically my 7th piece of advice in my 10 Point Plan was to read my draft previews so let's start to break down the 2013 NBA Draft for the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks currently hold the 15th and 43rd picks in the draft.  With how well the NBA Draft is covered, you can almost be assured that the following 35 guys (Nerlens Noel, Victor Oladipo, Otto Porter, Anthony Bennett, Alex Len, Ben McLemore, Michael Carter-Williams, Trey Burke, C.J. McCollum, Cody Zeller, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Steven Adams, Sergey Karasev, Lucas Nogueira, Giannis Antetolounmpo, Dennis Schroeder, Shabazz Muhammad, Shane Larkin, Kelly Olynyk, Jamaal Franklin, Tony Mitchell, Mason Plumlee, Reggie Bullock, Glen Rice Jr., Allen Crabbe, Ricardo Ledo, Gorgui Dieng, Tim Hardaway Jr., Isaiah Canaan, Tony Snell, Rudy Gobert, Jeff Withey, Mike Muscala, Alex Abrines, and Pierre Jackson) will no longer be available with the 43rd pick.

Despite the fact that the Bucks have nabbed a few starters in the second round of the draft since 2000 (Michael Redd, Dan Gadzuric, Ersan Ilyasova, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute) the 2nd round is a crap shot so I support the Bucks taking any of those 35 guys in the second round if they are still available.  Here are the 10 guys I like most to least that Hammond and Company should strongly consider if they are available with the 43rd pick:

Andre Roberson (SF, 6'7", 206 lbs, Colorado, 21 years old) - According to a number of advanced metrics (i.e. using college statistics to project success in the NBA), Roberson is one of the best players in the entire draft. 

Nate Wolters (PG, 6'5", 196 lbs, South Dakota State, 22 years old) - Although Wolters does not excel in any particular area, he is above average in almost every facet.  With all due respect to Ish Smith, the only guard currently under contract for the Bucks, Wolters is already a better player than Smith.

Erik Green (PG, 6'3", 178 lbs, Virginia Tech, 22 years old) - My sister-in-law is set to receive her PhD from Virginia Tech next season so I've developed a soft spot in my heart for the university.  Even leaving that bias aside, Green was one of the most potent scorers in college basketball last year, which makes him a great combo guard off the bench next season with the potential to start in a few season.

Archie Goodwin (SG, 6'5", 196 lbs, Kentucky, 18 years old) - Although Goodwin's shot is a work in progress at best, under the tutelage of new Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Nick Van Exel, I see Goodwin as Jodie Meeks 2.0.

Grant Jerrett (PF, 6'10", 232 lbs, Arizona, 19 years old) - Still not sure why Jerrett entered the draft after his freshman season but the Bucks can treat next season as a red-shirt season for Jarrett to ease his transition to the NBA.

Lorenzo Brown (PG, 6'5", 189 lbs, N.C. State, 22 years old) - Although Brown is technically a point guard, his shot is so deficient right now that teams will concede anything more than a mid-range jumpers until he fixes his shot.  Even if Brown cannot develop a consistent shot in the NBA, worst case scenario his speed and passing ability mean he will be a quality backup point guard in the league for a long time.

Trevor Mbajwe (PF, 6'8", 236 lbs, Minnesota, 24 years old) - I had a well documented man-crush on Kenneth Faried heading into the 2011 NBA Draft so I was immediately sold when some scouts pegged Mbajwe as a poor man's Kenneth Faried.

Seth Curry (SG, 6'3", 179 lbs, Duke, 22 years old) - His dad (Dell) and brother (Stephen) are two of the deadliest long-range shooters in NBA history so we know Seth has the shooting gene.  Some might think 43 is too early since most pundits think he will go undrafted but I am fine with the Bucks taking Curry because of his otherworldly shooting ability.

Phil Pressey (PG, 6'0", 177 lbs, Missouri, 22 years old) - Speaking of bloodlines, Phil's father Paul was one of the best Bucks in the 80's.  Although I have lower expectations for Phil, I still see him contributing next season based on his collegiate production.

Marko Todorovic (SF, 6'11", 245 lbs, Serbia, 21 years old) - Although Todorovic will give the Bucks nothing for a few years, with the proper seasoning in Europe, we might be looking at the second coming of Ersan Illyasova.

With how I think the Bucks should approach the second round of the 2013 NBA Draft documented, make sure to read my thoughts on how the Bucks should approach the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft later today and with my "what each GM should do" mock draft of the first round tomorrow.