The Milwaukee Bucks may have watched Yaxel Lendeborg get off to the hotter start, but that doesn’t mean they should be losing sleep over Brayden Burries.
Lendeborg, taken one pick after the Bucks in this past draft, has been the more eye-catching rookie so far. The Golden State Warriors forward has been dominating early this season, and his rise naturally invites the comparison. But the gap in early production doesn’t automatically turn into a draft mistake for Milwaukee.
The biggest reason is simple: Burries better matches where the Bucks are headed. Lendeborg is 24, which was part of the appeal for Golden State.
The Warriors are in win-now mode as the Stephen Curry dynasty nears its end, so they could overlook questions about how much upside Lendeborg still has left to unlock. They needed help immediately, and he offered that.
That kind of move is exactly what Bucks fans had wanted Milwaukee to make when Giannis Antetokounmpo was still there. Management never really went that route, and if Giannis had remained on the roster this offseason, Lendeborg would have made a lot of sense as a ready-made contributor alongside the Greek Freak. But that version of the roster is gone now.
For the Bucks as they stand, a younger player makes more sense. Burries is 21, and the team is still in a development phase.
That’s why it was reasonable to go with a prospect many viewed as the steal of the draft rather than a player who might already be closer to his ceiling. If Milwaukee had gone with Lendeborg, he could be approaching 30 by the time the team truly gets where it wants to go.
Part of why Lendeborg has looked so polished is opportunity. Golden State has made him a real part of the rotation from the jump, and he’s currently averaging the fourth-most minutes per game among rookies.
Burries, by comparison, sits 14th in rookie minutes. More time on the floor usually means more chances to look comfortable, especially when the player is older and more polished to begin with.
Still, Burries appears to be moving into a bigger role. With Ryan Rollins struggling, Taylor Jenkins made the unexpected choice to remove him from the starting lineup and replace him with Burries in the loss to Minnesota. Burries played 26 minutes in that game after logging 21 in his previous outing, and Jenkins seems to be trusting him more with each passing night.
The production should come with the minutes.
In Other News...
Bucks May Already Regret Passing On This Fast-Rising Rookie
Yaxel Lendeborg is wasting no time making teams second-guess how they viewed him on draft night. Taken by the Warriors shortly after Brayden Burries, the 24-year-old rookie has opened his first NBA season with a strong stretch, putting up 21.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game through eight contests while helping fuel Golden States recent winning streak.
For Milwaukee, the early returns only sharpen the question of whether passing on a fast-rising talent like Lendeborg might come back to sting them. The age concerns that followed him into the draft have done little to slow his development so far, and his play is starting to look less like a short-term surprise and more like a sign of a higher ceiling than some teams were willing to project. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Rookie Suddenly Fits The Identity Milwaukee Wants To Build
Taylor Jenkins made an early-season lineup tweak against the Timberwolves that said plenty about the direction the Bucks want to take. Rookie guard Brayden Burries got the start over Ryan Rollins and responded with nine points and nine rebounds in his first career start, giving Milwaukee a glimpse of a player who can help fuel the faster pace the team is trying to establish.
Even with the missed shots, Jenkins pointed to Burries pace and work on the glass as reasons for encouragement, and those are the kinds of traits that tend to earn more trust quickly in Milwaukee. If the Bucks are serious about leaning into speed and energy, Burries looks like a rookie who may keep finding his way onto the floor as the opportunities grow. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Pulled Into A Frontcourt Rumor That Could Change Their Plans
The Bucks have been pulled into a frontcourt rumor that could ripple well beyond one trade deadline conversation, with Golden State reportedly looking for help at center and Milwaukee mentioned as a possible partner. The framework being discussed would send Kristaps Porzingis, Gui Santos and a future first-round pick in exchange for a Bucks big man such as Kelel Ware or Myles Turner, a construction that immediately raises questions about fit, value and how much either side would be willing to change course.
For Milwaukee, the intrigue is obvious because a deal like this would touch both the roster and the books, and the financial side may matter as much as the basketball fit. For Golden State, the appeal is just as clear if the Warriors are serious about upgrading the middle, but for now it remains only a rumor, with no official transaction in place and plenty of room for the conversation to shift before anything gets real. [Read more 🡒]