The Milwaukee Bucks have started training camp ahead of the 2023-24 NBA season. This particular camp is buzzing thanks to their recent trade for seven-time All-Star Damian Lillard. After spending 11 years with the Portland Trailblazers, Lillard is facing the challenge of building chemistry with a whole new set of teammates.
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Of course, his teaming up with two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is what is making the most headlines. However, there is another player who has stood out to Lillard in his first few days with his new team: 2022 first round pick MarJon Beauchamp.
Related: Milwaukee Bucks Fans Go Off on Former Coach’s Comments Regarding Damian Lillard Trade
Damian Lillard Is Impressed with Milwaukee Bucks Teammate MarJon Beauchamp
Lillard, along with Giannis and Khris Middleton, did not fully participate in practice on the first days of training camp. This gave him the opportunity to scout out his new teammates, and Beauchamp is a player that really stood out to him:
Dame gives a glowing review of @Marjon32 after Day 2 of camp 🦌@Froedtert & MCW Practice Report pic.twitter.com/AvkcHqHmMW
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) October 4, 2023
“He’s a big guard, you know? Tall, long, athletic. He can score the ball, he’s competitive. It just kind of jumped out to me.
“When I watch young players, I always try to put myself in like the space of a scout. And he’s a player that like if I was scouting a player, I would draft him. You know, I would pick him just off of what I’ve seen the last couple days.
“His energy, off the court versus on the court. I was like, that’s my kind of young player.”
It is a good thing that Lillard is noticing that Beauchamp has potential to special. Milwaukee has sacrificed a great deal of their future draft picks in order to build a championship-caliber team. If they are to remain competitive for years to come, Beauchamp and the other few picks that they do have need to develop into championship-caliber contributors.
MarJon Beauchamp Attended the Milwaukee Bucks Rally for Damian Lillard
Fans in Milwaukee came out in the thousands to greet Lillard and his children when they first arrived in the city. Among them was Beauchamp, who is entering his second year in the NBA.
Beauchamp also gave up (for a price, presumably) Lillard’s #0, which he wore for the Bucks last season. Beauchamp is taking jersey #3, which was last worn by George Hill.
MarJon Beauchamp Is a Candidate for the Milwaukee Bucks Starting Rotation
Lillard, of course, will take the starting point guard spot that was vacated by Jrue Holiday in the trade. In order to acquire Lillard, though, Milwaukee also had to part ways with Grayson Allen, who was their starting shooting guard last season.
This means that the Bucks will need to decide which player will take his starting spot. Beauchamp is certainly a candidate, but he will be competing with Pat Connaughton, Malik Beasley, and Jae Crowder.
Each player has upsides that make them good candidates, but it will come down to who new head coach Adrian Griffin believes is the best fit with the rest of the starters.
Based on the glowing praise Lillard just had for Beauchamp, one must assume the second-year guard has as good of a chance as anyone.
Regardless of whether he starts or not, it is highly likely that Beauchamp will see the floor more this year than he did last year when Mike Budenholzer was the head coach. Coach Bud was notorious for not giving young players much playing time while new head coach Adrian Griffin is known for his ability to develop young players.
MarJon Beauchamp’s Rookie Season
Beauchamp averaged 5.1 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 13.5 minutes per game last season. He appeared in 52 games, starting 11 of them. Milwaukee will hope that his shooting ability has improved over the offseason as he shot 39/33/73 from the floor last season.
On November 14, 2022, Beauchamp got the start in place of Middleton in a game against the Atlanta Hawks. In that game, he went 7/9 from the floor (3/4 from three) and scored 20 points. He also had eight rebounds, an assist, and a block.
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