The Milwaukee Bucks kept their first round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft and selected MarJon Beauchamp, a 21-year-old wing that spent the last season playing for the G League Ignite.
“We got a player,” Bucks assistant general manager Milt Newton said Thursday night. “Versatile, can defend multiple positions, really athletic, great defender. He will fit in with our schemes and big-time competitor. A player that we really wanted. We didn’t think he was going to be there at 24, and we were desperately trying to move up to make sure that we could get an arrangement where we could get him, but he was there. And we’re happy with that selection.”
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Newton revealed that the Bucks had their eye on Beauchamp throughout the season and also welcomed him to Milwaukee for two draft workouts, which led to Beauchamp feeling quite comfortable with the Bucks.
“We’ve seen him play multiple times during the year, and we brought him in twice,” Newton said. “Had a nice dinner with him. Bud sat with him and had a long discussion with him after the workouts. Very likable. Once he got to feel comfortable with us, he opened up a lot. Told us about his life, his family, and he stated that he wanted to be here. He felt really comfortable, at home with our staff and the players, the people we had around him for his workouts.”
With the pick made, here’s a quick analysis of Beauchamp’s strengths, weaknesses and fit in Milwaukee.
Strengths
Great frame for an NBA wing. At 6-foot-6, he pairs that with a 7-foot wingspan, broad shoulders and a strong lower half. He doesn’t get bullied or knocked around. Uses that frame in multiple functional ways. Plays with a terrific motor. The trajectory is key here. As opposed to becoming more of a shot creator, Beauchamp has taken those two best attributes — his frame and motor — and turned into more of a garbage man willing to get into the tough areas of the court. He rebounds well for a wing and isn’t afraid to get physical if he must. On top of that, he generally knows his limitations and doesn’t try to play outside of them.
It helps, in terms of motor and frame, that he is a legitimate NBA athlete, likely an above-average one in the early stages of his career. It’s no surprise that, offensively, he’s best as a finisher. He’s a big-time leaper off two feet but can go up off one foot in transition and throw one down easily if he must. Bursts through contact to finish. Not only someone who absorbs contact, but often he’s the one who initiates it. Always a threat coming from the weak side for a putback dunk if you don’t put a body on him on the offensive glass. He’s also pretty sharp on cuts to the rim. If for some reason you close out on him hard, he can straight-line drive to the basket. Per Synergy, Beauchamp made 65.3 percent of his shots in the half court as a finisher this past season, a number that placed him within the top-10 non-bigs in the G League. He’s a terrific finisher. In transition is where Beauchamp excels best on offense right now. He’s fast in a straight line and almost always is one of the first guys out on the break. Beauchamp, per Synergy, scored about 30 percent of his points this past season out on the break, with all but one of those shots coming at the rim.
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In total, where Beauchamp is best overall on the court right now is as a defender. He truly takes pride in not letting his man get a clean look. He does an awesome job of using his chest to get into opposing offensive players, walling up and absorbing contact to where even bigger wings can’t plow through him. More physical at the point of attack than quick. Could have some small issues against quicker guards, but he is switchable and will be able to handle twos through fours. Does a good job of sliding backward to cut off angles. Additionally, does an awesome job of contesting shots because of his length. Smart, balanced defender.
Does a great job on closeouts, staying on balance and allowing his length to be able to contest. Pretty tough to drive him because of that balance. It allows him to drop his hips and slide to cut off the attack angle for players trying to pump fake then go. Has some moments where he might dig from the same side when he shouldn’t off a shooter or on the back side where he gets caught at a standstill. But the ability to close out on shooters well and generally rotate within a team construct supersedes these questions given how young he is. He’s not a special, future All-Defense guy in my view, but I think he’ll be effective early as a defender in the NBA. — Sam Vecenie
Weaknesses
Scoring and floor spacing is the swing skill, and it’s a significant concern. Given the role, Beauchamp must be capable of hitting a jumper to space the floor. The problem? His catch-and-shoot jumper is rough right now. Very loud mechanics. There is a lot going on there, and it seems like he knows there is a lot going on and tries to rush it to get it off. Large ball dip and herky-jerky with a bit of a second motion at the top. Shot prep is often different from one shot to the next. Sometimes it’s off the hop; other times it’s off a one-two without any rhyme or reason. Very inconsistent arc on the shot. Sometimes it’s too flat; other times, he’s trying to get too much air under it.
His misses are totally inconsistent, and he can’t make them off any movement. It looks like it isn’t natural for him. Made 27 percent from 3 in the G League and took under three per game despite playing over 34 minutes per night. Has some upside as a pull-up shooter. Somewhat comfortable hitting a one-dribble pull-up 3 in transition or attacking a closeout from the midrange. Mechanics look cleaner off the pull-up in terms of rhythm, which could give some hope for trainers as they work with fixing the jumper off the catch. Having said that, a big part of his relatively better success here was the way teams played him. He was a guy the scouting report said to go under every single time down the court, which meant he walked into some easy pull-ups. But I’m skeptical of Beauchamp becoming reliable as a shooter.
Needs to improve as a ballhandler in terms of tightness. Very loose handle that tends to get away from his body a bit too often. Has some interesting flashes on tape where he’s clearly thinking through what’s going on and makes a fluid move off the bounce. Showcases an interesting, creative mindset at times that could give some upside as a quick-decision driver with counters. Plays at his own pace using hesitation moves. Loves the righty hesi move if he’s in semi-transition, much prefers attacking closeouts going to his left. But despite that mindset, I don’t see much upside as a shot creator because his control over the ball is not great. Gets ripped regularly.
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In general, I have some feel-for-the-game concerns. He’s a poor passer across all phases at this stage. Doesn’t make good reads off a live dribble, and often throws some wild ones when he gets in trouble. Stares down his reads out of set plays and throws some wild turnovers for such a minimal half-court offensive role. Doesn’t seem to react to what’s happening out there if the defender takes away the first read. Much like with the shooting, he doesn’t seem to be a natural here that processes the game exceedingly well. Can Beauchamp get by merely by playing with high effort at the highest level? How much room for improvement is there here, given that he’s a bit older in terms of age, but relatively younger in terms of high-level basketball experience because of his circuitous path? — Vecenie
The fit in Milwaukee
The Bucks allowed P.J. Tucker to leave Milwaukee at the start of last year’s offseason and then spent the remainder of the offseason trying to find his replacement. They needed size on the wing and tried to fill that gap with two veterans, Rodney Hood and Semi Ojeleye. Neither worked out, and the Bucks traded both away at the trade deadline. Wesley Matthews, a 13-year NBA veteran, came into the picture in December, but Beauchamp — 6-foot-6 with a 7-foot wingspan and wide shoulders — gives the Bucks more size and length on the wing, as well as some young legs.
“We’ve seen him play, and he’s very athletic,” Newton said. “If you’re looking at the Eastern Conference and the wings that we have (to play), we, as a Bucks team, we’re a defensive team, and when we can add another piece that can defend multiple positions, we think is a very attractive move.”
He added: “I think he, arguably, will be probably our — maybe outside of Giannis — most athletic guy. Can really run and jump and develop his shot. He was just a very good pick for us. We like what he brought to the table and, once again, really big for us is his competitive spirit. A kid that is coming from a difficult background and has something to fight for and that has a lot of value with us.”
There will be considerable question marks about what Beauchamp can do on the offensive end of the floor. His jumper was questionable with the G League Ignite, but the Bucks believe in how that projects moving forward.
“We think it will improve,” Newton said. “His shot mechanics are really good. We have this drill called the ‘Bucks 100,’ shooting 101 3-point shots, and I think he shot mid-60s, which is pretty good, off the move, after his workout. He’s tired, but the mechanics are there for him to improve as a shooter, and we think he will definitely improve with the coaching staff we have.”
Even without having a ton of success with his jump shot, Beauchamp found a way to make an impact for the Ignite by committing to doing all of the little things and working off of other players, something the Bucks expect him to be able to do with the big three in Milwaukee.
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“He will provide another player that can handle the ball, but as we all know, Khris, Giannis and Jrue are our primary ball handlers,” Newton said. “He is a player that is not afraid to put the ball on the floor. Quick first step. Can get to the basket. He provides another athletic option that can put the ball in the basket.”
Sometimes, players like that struggle at the next level because they are not quite skilled enough, but for a team that will contend for a championship again next season, Beauchamp has an NBA body, spent the last season playing against professionals with the G League Ignite and should have the requisite size and strength to hit the floor during his rookie season. Beauchamp gives the Bucks more size on the wing and another option in small-ball configurations. — Eric Nehm
Summary
I want to love Beauchamp as a prospect because I love his story, and I love how hard he has worked to manufacture himself into being a genuine draft prospect. So many prospects would have been utterly waylaid by how messy his pathway to this point was. But instead, he put his head down and did the work. On top of that, the work he did was intelligent. He has built a game that makes sense for playing a role in the NBA. Whereas many players focus on getting as good with the ball as they can, Beauchamp worked on off-ball skills like his defense and motor, which is what teams want. That bodes well for him reaching whatever his ceiling can be. But if he can’t shoot because his touch isn’t great, and his feel for the game offensively isn’t particularly natural, I have some questions on what that ceiling ends up being. The fact that he’s versatile on defense in a league begging for guys like him is a huge plus. Where you fall on him comes down to if you believe in him becoming an average shooter. I’m a bit more skeptical, which is why I have him a bit lower on my personal board than where consensus seems to be. But if you buy into his work ethic, I get having him as a top-25 prospect. — Vecenie
Related reading
Vardon: MarJon Beauchamp is a likely first-round pick you don’t know — but LeBron does
Latest draft coverage: 2022 NBA Draft live tracker, results
Vecenie and Hollinger: Pick-by-pick analysis
(Photo of Adam Silver and MarJon Beauchamp: Brad Penner / USA Today)
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