Charlotte Hornets: Three Undervalued Trade Targets to Pursue
DJ Wilson
DJ Wilson, drafted by the Bucks in 2017, has had an extremely difficult time finding minutes. Milwaukee has been one of the deepest and most veteran-heavy teams in the league the past few seasons. However, with a team that presents open big man minutes, Wilson will be a developing team’s next, Christian Wood.
Wilson is simply one of those young players who when you look at his whole body of work, you can tell he is going play meaningful NBA minutes at some point. At 6-10, 235 pounds with an astounding, seven-foot, three-inch wingspan, Wilson presents the physical tools to hang around with the NBA’s most athletic big men.
Athleticism aside, he is an extremely skilled big. He has demonstrated an adequate stroke from behind the arc, an ability to bang on the boards, and some flashes of being a playmaker. At 24-years-old and having three years of experience under one of the NBA’s most highly touted development staffs, it’s not a matter of adding more to Wilson’s game but rather, finding him minutes.
In the 2018-2019 season, the Michigan product saw his most court time, holding down consistent bench minutes for Mike Budenholzer’s squad. During that campaign, he shot 36% from three on nearly three attempts a game.
In his final college season, the last time fans saw a significant sample size of Wilson; he demonstrated his range further. He shot 37% from behind the arc and 83% on free throws during his final year in Ann Arbor.
Rebounding has been another point of improvement for the California native. His per 36-minute numbers the past two seasons show that he has the potential to be a double-double machine with the right opportunity. Per 36 minutes, he averaged 8.7 and 9.1 boards during the 2019-2020 season and the campaign prior to that respectively.
Resulting from presumably being integrated into the Giannis Antetokounmpo school of point-forward skills, Wilson has shown shades of playmaking on offense. Wilson’s biggest knock coming out of Michigan was decision making on offense.
Two years of studying under one of the greatest offensive minds of the 21st century will change that. Playmaking doesn’t have to strictly be making the right pass. While studying film, is it clear that Wilson makes excellent cuts and smartly comes off of screens in pick-and-pop situations.
Not unlike Wood’s journey, Wilson may want to look to peel himself off of Milwaukee’s bench. While winning 60 games a year is not a bad situation to be stuck in, a big second contract won’t be viable without demonstrating excellence on the court. Charlotte, in desperate need of a pick-and-pop big man, would be wise to make a call to the Bucks about Wilson.