NBA Summer League rosters are starting to roll out. For the most part, Summer League is a chance for younger players to get some NBA-like experience. However, the Milwaukee Bucks Summer League roster surprisingly included 29-year-old forward Keita Bates-Diop. Notably, he started his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2018. Bates-Diop was drafted with the 48th pick out of Ohio State and played in Minnesota for one and a half seasons. Across 67 games, he averaged 6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.5 blocks, and 0.5 steals with the Wolves.
Regardless, including a near-30-year-old on your Summer League roster is a perplexing strategy for the Bucks. For reference, Leonard Miller, with two years of experience, is the longest-tenured NBA player on the Wolves Summer League roster. Similarly, outside of Bates-Diop, nobody on the Bucks Summer League roster has more than two years of NBA experience. Bates-Diop hasn't played in Summer League since his second season in the NBA back in 2019.
Bates-Diop is an NBA-level player
Bates-Diop played in the Chinese CBA league for the Qingdao Eagles this past season. Ironically, he was traded to the Wolves before the season as part of the Julius Randle-Karl-Anthony Towns deal; however, Minnesota opted to waive him. Bates-Diop is an NBA-level player. During his six-year NBA career, Bates-Diop has averaged 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 0.9 assists on 47.4/33.3/75.1 shooting splits. He most recently played for the Brooklyn Nets in the 2023-24 season. In addition to the Wolves and Nets, Bates-Diop has had stops with the San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, and Denver Nuggets.
As a lengthy and athletic 6-foot-8 wing, Bates-Diop’s best trait is undoubtedly his defense. Bates-Diop is capable of guarding multiple positions and wreaking havoc off-ball. Landing a versatile wing defender makes sense for the Bucks.
However, signing him to a Summer League deal doesn’t make much sense. As a multi-year NBA veteran who is competing against players who, in some cases, are 10 years younger than him, KBD will likely dominate. Bates-Diop’s Summer League play will not determine if he is ready to return to the NBA. Giving him a one-year contract or training camp deal would have been a better option for the Bucks.
Bates-Diop is an easy player to root for, given his defense and hustle. While Timberwolves fans should be happy that Bates-Diop is getting another NBA shot, it is undoubtedly in a strange way.