AJ Green looked like one of Milwaukee’s more movable pieces over the summer, and the Bucks may already be feeling the cost of holding onto him.
The logic was easy to see then. Milwaukee’s backcourt was crowded, Gary Trent Jr. got a significant raise, and Green suddenly felt less essential to the long-term picture.
Still, the Bucks kept him in place. Now, with his minutes sliding and his role shrinking, that decision looks a lot less clean.
Green had real trade value before the season ever tipped off. Last year, he averaged 10.4 points while shooting 41.9 percent from 3-point range on 7.1 attempts per game, and that kind of perimeter production always travels well.
It also helped him set the franchise record for 3-pointers made in a season. Add in the four-year, $45 million extension set to begin, and he had the kind of contract contenders like to target.
That window may have been the best one Milwaukee had.
He still brings value, but not at the same level. Green is actually shooting a career-high 43.4 percent from deep this season, yet his volume has dropped to 4.4 attempts per game.
The bigger issue is how little he’s been on the floor lately. In his last four games, he’s logged 24, 18, eight, and eight minutes.
In Milwaukee’s most recent loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Green didn’t enter until the fourth quarter, long after the game had been decided. That’s the kind of usage that raises questions fast, especially when a player’s role is trending the wrong way.
The Bucks’ rotation has been in flux, and Taylor Jenkins is still sorting out the pieces. He’s even had Jaime Jaquez Jr. coming off the bench despite the success he’s had as a starter.
So Green isn’t necessarily locked into this reduced role forever. He could just as easily pop back up for 30 minutes in the next game.
But if the minutes keep disappearing, Milwaukee has to at least look around. If Green isn’t going to be used as one of the league’s better shooters, then flipping him for draft capital, a young player, or some combination of the two starts to make a lot more sense.
In Other News...
Gary Trent Jr.s Bucks Role Is Becoming Harder To Ignore
Gary Trent Jr.s place in the Bucks early-season rotation has become one of the more notable subplots around the team, especially after his recent contract extension. Through the first stretch of the season, he has logged only 23 minutes, a surprisingly small role for a player Milwaukee clearly valued enough to bring back on a new deal. Head coach Taylor Jenkins has leaned on other options instead, leaving Trent on the outside of the regular rotation for now.
The timing has only added to the scrutiny. With the Bucks already under investigation for potential salary cap circumvention, Trents limited usage has naturally drawn extra attention from outside the locker room. Even without any conclusions attached to that review, the optics around a newly extended player barely seeing the floor are hard to miss, and they leave one of Milwaukees more interesting roster questions hanging in plain sight. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Rotation Squeeze Is Creating A Real Problem For Jakucionis
The Bucks are still searching for answers after tying a franchise-worst start to the season in the loss to the Lakers, and the ripple effects have already reached the back end of the rotation. Taylor Jenkins responded with lineup changes, including moving Jaime Jaquez Jr. to the bench in favor of Nate Ament, and Jaquez has continued to give Milwaukee a steady lift in that reserve role.
Kasparas Jakucionis, meanwhile, has been caught in the squeeze. The rotation adjustments have left him with limited opportunities, and the shooting issues have only made it harder for him to carve out a consistent place in the mix. For a team trying to stabilize itself early, every minute is getting harder to earn. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Lineup Shuffle Is Creating A Core Debate Milwaukee Cant Ignore
Taylor Jenkins keeps turning over the Bucks rotation in search of something that sticks, and the only constant so far has been Tyler Herro. He has held down the starting two-guard spot and is the lone player consistently clearing 30 minutes a night, while the rest of the lineup has been far more fluid as Milwaukee tries to find the right mix.
That search has already led Jenkins to elevate rookies Brayden Burries and Nate Ament into starting roles, even as established options like Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Ryan Rollins have seen their minutes trimmed. AJ Green and Ousmane Dieng have also bounced through changing roles, which leaves the Bucks with a broader question about which pieces are becoming part of the core and which ones are still fighting for a steady place in the rotation. [Read more 🡒]