23. Utah Jazz, Desmond Bane, G, TCU
As expected, Mike Conley won’t exercise his expensive early termination option and will return to Utah next season, if the team doesn’t find a suitable trade partner, such as the Knicks. With their core of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert prepping for possible extensions, the Jazz will look to prove they are ready to compete in the West.
TCU’s Desmond Bane is a perfect piece to add to a team in contention. He can flat-out shoot, connecting on 43 percent of his threes in college, and at an advanced draft age, 22, he should be ready to contribute right away.
24. Milwaukee Bucks, Malachi Flynn, G, SDSU
Like many teams in this draft, the Milwaukee Bucks are often mentioned as a potential trade partner. After a disappointing end to their season in the bubble, they will spend this offseason trying to create the perfect mix of players to catapult Giannis Antetokounmpo into the NBA Finals.
A guard who has been rising up draft boards and would give Milwaukee a mature young player to add to their rotation is SDSU’s Malachi Flynn. While some worry about his size (6-foot-1, 185 pounds), he is one of the best passers out of the pick-and-roll in this class, and brings a feisty style of play to his game that should translate well as a back-end rotation piece on a good team.