As the Milwaukee Bucks keep hunting for that last small forward to finish the roster, MarJon Beauchamp is the kind of name that can get overlooked at first glance. But a reunion with the former first-round pick might fit the Bucks better than it sounds.
The obvious targets in the conversation are bigger names like Peyton Watson and Jonathan Kuminga. Still, if those swings miss, Beauchamp deserves real consideration as a fallback option. Milwaukee already knows him, and his game has shown enough life again to make the idea worth revisiting.
Beauchamp’s rookie season under Mike Budenholzer offered a glimpse of what the Bucks thought they were getting when they drafted him. He looked like a wing who could bother the other team’s best perimeter threat while keeping his role simple on offense: slash, space the floor, and stay inside the flow of the Giannis Antetokounmpo attack.
That version never fully took hold. Beauchamp slipped out of the rotation under Adrian Griffin and Doc Rivers, then was eventually moved on from. He spent time bouncing from team to team before finding a little traction with the Philadelphia 76ers, and that stretch is what makes him relevant again.
In 14 games with Philly, Beauchamp averaged 6.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 14.0 minutes per game. The defensive numbers were encouraging too. According to matchup data on NBA.com/stats, he held opponents to 30-for-85 shooting, or 35.3 field goal percentage, a reminder that the edge on that end of the floor never really disappeared.
That matters for Milwaukee because the Bucks have enough backcourt options, but they still need size when it comes to defending players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. If the pursuit of Watson and Kuminga doesn’t lead anywhere, Beauchamp should be in the backup-plan mix. He’s young enough to still fit the timeline, and there’s at least a path where Taylor Jenkins can still pull something out of him the way he did with GG Jackson and Jaylen Wells.
At 25, Beauchamp is hardly an aging piece. He’s a former first-round gamble who would come cheap, be available, and already understand the organization and its culture. A minimum deal or a non-guaranteed training camp contract would barely cost the Bucks anything, especially compared with the kind of asset drain that comes with chasing a pricier trade target.
There’s also a case that Beauchamp simply never had the right setup. He may have needed stability, plus a team willing to give him real minutes without the pressure of every possession carrying championship weight. That’s the kind of environment a rebuild centered on youth and development can provide, and it could be exactly what he needs to sort out the rough parts of his game.
If Milwaukee brought him back, the goal wouldn’t have to be immediate title impact. The better version of the move is simpler: give him a chance to survive, show he belongs, and maybe create a future trade chip along the way.
When the Bucks took Beauchamp 24th overall in 2022, they were betting on a long, bouncy transition scorer who could grow into a 3-and-D presence. That hasn’t fully happened yet. But the possibility is still there, and another shot in Milwaukee might be the cleanest way to see whether it ever does.
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