Bucks go with G/F MarJon Beauchamp in the first round, trade with Indiana to get G Hugo Besson in the second

June 23, 2022
|In Bucks
|By Zach Heilprin

Milwaukee added two players to its roster during Thursday night’s NBA Draft, including an athletic wing with a high upside in MarJon Beauchamp at pick No. 24.

“I’m so excited,” Beauchamp told reporters at the draft in Brooklyn. “Playing with one of the greatest (Giannis Antetokounmpo) to play the game and a great team, to learn from him and to learn from Khris Middleton and all
the vets they have, it’s amazing.”

The 6-foot-6 Beauchamp spent the past year playing with the G League Ignite where he averaged 15.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists over 12 games. How he ended up there is bit of a winding road.

Beauchamp was a top-60 player in the country coming out of high school as part of the 2020 class and held offers from some of the major programs in the nation. But he decided to forego college and prepare for the 2021 draft. His plans changed due to the pandemic, though, and Beauchamp ended up back home in Washington and eventually playing at Yakima Valley College for 12 games in the spring of 2021 where he averaged 30.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while shooting 39.8% from beyond the arc. He then signed with the Ignite last September.

Scouting reports have Beauchamp as a guy that could be an elite defender with his quickness, long wingspan and effort. Milwaukee worked Beauchamp out twice during the draft process and he had dinner with coach Mike Budenholzer. Bucks assistant GM Milt Newton told reporters Thursday that Beauchamp may already be the team’s most athletic player outside of Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Due to trades, the 21-year-old is just the third first-round pick of GM Jon Horst’s six-year tenure that might actually suit up for Milwaukee and the first since Donte DiVincenzo in 2018.

The Bucks didn’t have a second-round pick coming into the night but reportedly traded with Indiana to get pick No. 58. Though the trade wasn’t official as of late Thursday night, the Pacers chose 21-year-old French guard Hugo Besson for Milwaukee. He initially declared for the 2021 draft but pulled his name out and ended up playing for the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL last season. The 6-foot-5 Besson averaged 13.9 points, 4 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 25 games.