Kyshawn George Milwaukee Bucks 2024 NBA Draft decision, Digi Mart USA News: The 2024 NBA Draft, in which the Milwaukee Bucks selected guard AJ Johnson, will haunt the team for a long time. Kyshawn George, a player Milwaukee seemingly had on its radar but passed on, is having a hot start to his third season.
Looking like a budding star in the making, passing on Johnson looks like one of the Bucks’ worst moves of the entire decade.
It is easy to play the hindsight game. Two teams passed on Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant went 13th.
Teams pass on talented players all the time.
The Bucks’ decision is particularly painful because they reportedly liked what they saw from Johnson before the draft. On a past episode of The Old Man and the Three podcast, George revealed that Milwaukee gave him great feedback after an individual workout and considered him their floor in terms of draft position.
Milwaukee passed, and George was selected one pick later.
The results have been difficult for the Bucks to accept. It is still early, but George has looked excellent this season, averaging 17.3 points, 4.9 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 51.5 percent from the floor.
He is playing well for a Wizards team that has considerable talent, and the opportunity came from Milwaukee’s decision.
Passing on George would have been justifiable had the Bucks chosen a more experienced college player such as Ryan Dunn or Terrence Shannon Jr., who could have offered a more polished contributor to help Milwaukee’s contending aspirations. George had just one year of college experience and likely needed time to sharpen his game.
Instead, Milwaukee selected Johnson, one of the rawest prospects in the draft, and it was clear he would need years to become a rotational player. Johnson did not last a full season in Milwaukee, landing in Washington in the trade that brought Kyle Kuzma to the Bucks.
Since leaving Milwaukee, Johnson has lacked stability, being traded to Dallas and Memphis, and he could be moved out of New Orleans at any time. All of this has happened in three seasons.
It is impossible to know whether George would have developed the same way had Milwaukee drafted him. Questions remain about how much confidence one should place in Doc Rivers developing a young prospect.
Still, the thought of possibly having the player now lighting it up in Washington is painful for Bucks fans, especially with recent losses piling up.
