The Bucks don’t need another long look at Myles Turner to know what he is. They do need to find out what Kel’el Ware can become, and his preseason debut only sharpened that question.
Ware opened with Milwaukee by putting up 14 points, 12 rebounds, one block and one steal in 24 minutes, hitting 5 of 11 shots. It was only one exhibition game, and that matters. But it also offered a glimpse of why the Bucks should be thinking harder about giving the young center a real runway right away.
Before preseason, there was a solid case for starting Turner at center. He’s the veteran, the more established option, and if Milwaukee eventually wants to move him, putting him in the starting five early could help his trade value. The idea was simple: begin with Turner, then shift to Ware after about a month once the season settles in.
That thinking is starting to lose some of its grip.
Milwaukee is in a rebuild, and that changes the equation. This year should be about learning which young players can grow into part of the next core, and Ware may have as much upside as anyone on the roster. In that setting, the Bucks should be leaning toward opportunity, not defaulting to veteran hierarchy just because that’s the usual NBA script.
Ware is in his third season, and the raw tools are obvious. He’s 7 feet tall, moves well, finishes around the rim, rebounds, protects the basket and has enough offensive touch that you can picture more coming from his game later. The real questions have always been whether that talent shows up consistently and whether he can bring the same energy and edge every night.
That’s why the rebound total stood out as much as the scoring. Twelve boards in 24 minutes is the kind of production Milwaukee wants to see, especially when consistency and physicality have been part of the conversation around him since he entered the league.
The Bucks should be willing to find out what Ware looks like with more responsibility. Let him play 30 minutes against starting centers.
Let him take on tougher matchups. Let him work through the mistakes that come with being young.
Milwaukee is in a position to absorb those rough patches.
That doesn’t mean Turner has to disappear from the picture. He can still play meaningful minutes, finish games when the matchup demands it and give the Bucks plenty of chances to show other teams what he can do. Milwaukee can even play around with Turner and Ware together if it wants to get creative.
What shouldn’t happen is Ware getting squeezed into 18 or 20 minutes simply because the veteran is the more familiar name.
The Bucks don’t need this season to answer questions about Turner. They already know what he brings after more than a decade in the league. Ware is the unknown, and that’s exactly why he should matter more right now.
Could he be Milwaukee’s starting center for the next five or six years? Could his offensive game grow to the point where the Bucks run actions for him instead of treating him only as a finisher? Those are the kinds of questions this season should help answer.
Ware is going to make mistakes. He’ll have quiet nights.
There will be games when Turner is plainly the better option. But Milwaukee’s biggest mistake would be spending too much time worrying about what its young players can’t do instead of giving them the chance to prove what they can become.
In Other News...
Bucks May Have Found The Frontcourt Fix That Changes Everything
A preseason look against Minnesota gave Milwaukee a much-needed glimpse of what its frontcourt could look like if the pieces start to click. Jericho Sims and Kel'el Ware both flashed the kind of rebounding and scoring presence the Bucks have been chasing, and for a team that has spent time searching for help on the glass, the performance stood out for more than just early October optimism.
The bigger question now is how those minutes sort themselves out once the games count. If Sims and Ware keep giving Milwaukee a reliable interior push, the ripple effect could reach well beyond the bench, where the Bucks have to decide which combinations make the most sense and whether Myles Turner still fits as cleanly into the rotation as expected. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Just Added A Young Big Worth Watching Closely
The Bucks made a quiet roster move this week by bringing in Johni Broome, a second-year forward who was waived by the Clippers before landing in Milwaukee. To make room, the Bucks moved on from John Butler Jr., a reminder that the end-of-roster churn is already underway as teams sort out which young pieces are worth carrying into the next phase of the season.
Broome gives Milwaukee another big to evaluate up close, and the timing gives the organization a chance to see where he fits before decisions get tougher. Elsewhere around the league, the Thunder also had a roster shuffle of their own, waiving guard Robert McCray V, who is expected to head to their G League affiliate. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Young Guards Already Caught In A Tough Rotation Battle
The Bucks got their preseason started with a first look at the backcourt mix, and for two of the younger guards, the early returns were not especially encouraging. Brayden Burries logged 16 minutes in the opener, while Kasparas Jakucionis did not get on the floor at all, a sign of how quickly the competition is tightening in Milwaukee as the team sorts through its guard rotation.
With established backcourt options expected to soak up most of the minutes, there may not be much room for the younger players to make an immediate push. The coaching staff can always shuffle things as the preseason rolls on, but for now Burries and Jakucionis appear to be fighting an uphill battle for consistent playing time, and every game from here carries a little more weight for their cases. [Read more 🡒]