Milwaukee Bucks: Why the Draft Raises Expectations for Next Season

In the aftermath of the NBA draft, few experts could argue that any team not named New Orleans had a better draft than Milwaukee did.

The moves started early, with a trade coming down the day before the draft and Milwaukee addressing its biggest need at the center position by acquiring Samuel Dalembert from Houston.

Dalembert is not an offensive machine, but at around eight points and boards per game, he fills a size void quite nicely.

This allowed Milwaukee to open up their options heading into draft night, and they found a couple of gems.

With their first pick at No. 14, Milwaukee nabbed John Henson, a shot-blocking forward that everyone thought would be gone in the top ten. Even GM John Hammond was surprised with Henson falling as far as he did.  The draft provided some "steals" for NBA teams, but if there was ever a "sneaky steal," Henson at No. 14 was it.

In the second round, Milwaukee selected the sharp shooting Doron Lamb out of Kentucky. The 6'4" guard hit 49 percent of his three-point attempts last season, and provides some much needed size at a the guard position behind his two smaller backcourt mates, Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis.

The addition of these guys raises expectations immensely heading into the the next season, as they answer a lot of questions in the lineup.

In a span of 48 hours, Milwaukee all of a sudden had a revitalized their frontcourt with the likes of Dalmbert, Henson, Drew Gooden, Larry Sanders and Ekpe Udoh. Henson is generating the most excitement as a rookie, but will fill into the rotation nicely with these other guys, and Milwaukee should always have an athletic big man on the floor to protect the paint.

With the big man issue addressed, Milwaukee filled its only other need in finding a sizable backup guard in Doron Lamb. Even with all the roster moves, fans are most excited to see Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings gel together and fill up the score board.

However, both are on the smaller, wiry side at 6'1" and 6'3" respectively. Before Lamb, the only other viable backup option was the recently re-signed Beno Udrih. Lamb was projected on a lot of boards to go late in the first round, but fell to Milwaukee with the twelfth pick in the second round.

The new additions are generating a lot of buzz about the upcoming season—and rightfully so. They addressed a lot of needs heading into next season, and expectations have never been higher for Milwaukee in the last five years.

With the revamped lineup, it is time once again to fear the deer.