Brayden Burries didn’t exactly need a fresh dose of fuel heading into his first season with the Milwaukee Bucks, but the market just handed him one anyway. Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson locked in a five-year extension worth $205 million right after finishing out his rookie deal, and that kind of payday has a way of sharpening the focus for every young player watching.
Thompson has become the kind of example Burries can study closely. Over his first three NBA seasons, he’s made steady jumps every year and has developed into a real two-way problem.
He already owns an All-Defensive team nod, and after putting up 18.3 points per game this past season, his offensive rise is starting to catch up to the defensive reputation. If the jumper comes along, the ceiling gets even higher.
That contract also says plenty about how Houston views him. The Rockets clearly see Thompson as a long-term piece, and that sort of commitment fresh off a rookie deal is rare. For young players around the league, it’s a reminder that strong early production can turn into a massive second contract.
Burries has his own reasons to think big. He may not have Thompson’s explosiveness or length, but the Bucks believe he can help right away as a two-way contributor.
His Summer League run backed that up: 23.5 points, 4.3 assists, two steals, and a block per game. He looked comfortable, productive, and active on both ends.
That’s part of why so many people viewed Milwaukee’s decision to take Burries 10th overall as the biggest steal of the draft. The guard has “star” written all over him, and he only reinforced that idea by playing like a man among boys in Summer League. With Giannis Antetokounmpo gone, Burries looks like a player who could help lead the Bucks into their next phase.
If he reaches that level, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him eventually out-earn even the kind of deal Thompson just signed. That conversation is still a few years away, but it’s the sort of target that should keep Burries pushing from day one.
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Naji Marshall Joins NBA Pushback Over Disrespectful T.J. McConnell Take
A throwaway podcast claim about T.J. McConnell quickly turned into a broader NBA debate, and several players were not having it. Nasir Core suggested McConnell would be outmatched in a one-on-one game, but the reaction from around the league pushed back hard, with current and former players including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Naji Marshall, Kenyon Martin and Patrick Beverley publicly disagreeing with the assessment.
For Bucks fans, it is a reminder of how much respect McConnell has earned across the league, even in conversations that are meant to be casual or hypothetical. The pushback also underscored a familiar split in basketball circles: one-on-one talent is its own argument, but it does not always translate cleanly to NBA competition, where McConnell has built a career on skill, toughness and winning the trust of teammates and opponents alike. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Face A Tough Jaime Jaquez Jr. Decision Sooner Than Expected
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Jaquezs next contract will hinge on more than what he already showed with the Heat. Milwaukee has to decide whether it sees him as a starter-level piece or a useful reserve, and that answer matters both for his role and for the money attached to it. In a rebuild, those judgments carry extra weight, because the Bucks are trying to stay flexible financially while still giving themselves enough talent to grow into something stable. [Read more 🡒]
Brayden Burries Is Forcing A Tough Bucks Rotation Question
Brayden Burries did more than look comfortable in Summer League. The 10th overall pick averaged 23.5 points per game, the highest mark by a Milwaukee Bucks player since 2007-08, and he did it while shooting 50 percent overall. For a team always trying to balance present-day expectations with the need to develop young talent, that kind of scoring burst is hard to ignore.
The buzz around Burries comes with the usual Summer League caveats, of course, especially since his free-throw shooting was not as sharp as it was in college. Still, the bigger question for Milwaukee is harder to brush aside: if that confidence and scoring translate once the games start counting, where does Burries fit in a rotation that already has decisions to make? The preseason chatter may be about his upside, but the regular season will decide whether this becomes a feel-good summer note or something much bigger. [Read more 🡒]