The Bucks’ blockbuster deal with Miami did not just hinge on the headline names. According to Jon Horst, Kasparas Jakucionis was part of the reason Milwaukee ultimately accepted the Heat’s offer for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Asked this week whether Jakucionis was the piece that helped separate Miami’s package from the rest, Horst more or less said yes - while making clear the Bucks viewed all four incoming players as essential. Milwaukee landed Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware and Jakucionis, along with draft assets, and Horst said the team would not have moved forward without that exact group.
“We were very intentional about the players which we acquired from Miami,” Horst said. “All four of them.
We were very specific about having them be part of this because we think it gives us a real chance to establish that and gives us a place to build from. Each player was primary for us.
There was not a deal that we would have done that didn’t have each of these four players in it, including Kasparas. Miami valued them all as well, as they should.”
Horst also singled out what Milwaukee liked about Jakucionis, pointing to the rookie’s “rotational impact” for the Heat and the chance to keep developing him. He praised the guard’s competitiveness, work ethic and reputation with his college coaches, Lithuania’s national team and people in Miami.
“He is incredibly competitive, incredibly hard-working, well-regarded by his college coaches, well-regarded by the (Lithuanian) national team, well-regarded from Miami folks,” Horst said. “So, we’re excited about him.
We’re excited about his positional size, we’re excited about his mentality, the pureness by which he plays the game. He plays the right way.
He’s a table-setter. He’s a true point guard.
He’s a very good shooter at a young age.”
Bobby Portis also had a farewell moment in Milwaukee on Wednesday. The new Heat forward, who spent the past six seasons with the Bucks, stopped by a pop-up shop and said he wanted to “send it out the right way” after becoming such a familiar face in the city. Portis said leaving is difficult because of everything that came with his time there.
“You kind of understand it, but at the same time it’s kind of hard to let go,” he said of the trade. “To be somewhere for six years, win a championship and get so much support like I have from a city, it’s tough.”
In Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell’s new maximum-salary extension is already drawing attention for what it means long term. Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports wrote that Mitchell has earned the commitment from the Cavaliers, but the deal also locks in 35% of the salary cap through his age-33 season, which will make roster-building around him more challenging. Devine also described Mitchell as “at-times defensively challenged.”
And in Chicago, Dailyn Swain is already setting a clear goal for his next step. The Bulls’ first-round pick, taken 15th overall last month, improved as a play-maker in each of his college seasons and averaged 3.6 assists per game as a junior in 2025/26. Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune reported that Swain wants to keep growing as a creator, and Chicago expects to use him at point guard in Summer League.
“I’m going to be on the ball a lot,” Swain said. “Making the right reads, having my teammates able to trust me with the ball in my hands, making everybody better, hitting guys when they’re open - I think that just builds chemistry and makes everybody want to play harder.”
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