Who's At 15?

(We don't want to do that again)

Our beloved Milwaukee Bucks hold the 15th pick in a draft that has, perhaps, 5 elite players followed by a tier of 10-15 players that are considered "very close" in talent and potential. One way to look at this is that, at 15, we can get a player who could just as easily have been drafted at 6. On the other hand, Yi was drafted at 6. As Bucks fans, we should hope John Hammond makes a pick that nets us a rotational guy. Anything above that would be gravy.

So, who's available? ESPN has a nice little rundown of the top 100 prospects. Right now, there are four players that intrigue me and could be available when the Bucks are on the clock later next month...

1. Ekpe Udoh: The Baylor PF is a classic banger with great length and a propensity towards blocking shots. He's not a scorer, but he should be strong on defense and on the glass.
2. Greg Monroe: A PF from Georgetown with a little more scoring but a lot less on the defensive end. He's also 4 years younger than Udoh, so his potential is (arguably) much higher.
3. Ed Davis: Simply tantalizing. More raw talent than anyone else in this tier, but he couldn't put it together in two years at North Carolina, which usually means he won't put it together later. Still, he blocks shots and grabs rebounds. Could/should be a solid rotational player for a playoff team.
4. James Anderson: A scoring SG to potentially replace Salmons. He doesn't have Salmons' jump shot, but he's got a bag of moves and ran up 22ppg last season.

One of those four should be there at 15. If not, look for the Bucks to go with Xavier Henry of Kansas or Hassan Whiteside (*cough* *bust* *cough*). Trying to build a contender picking outside of the lottery is almost impossible. But the Bucks have a solid core and just need to put together the strongest supporting cast possible to try and convince a top-tier free agent to sign with the Bucks in 2011. Remember, we already have a good second (Jennings) and third (Bogut) banana. We just need an alpha dog. And as we aren't getting an alpha dog at 15, we should just focus on getting a good supporting player. Go Bucks!