The Milwaukee Bucks may not have a clear opening for Kam Jones in the backcourt right now, but the road to one just got a lot easier to picture.
Jones is expected to spend much of this season developing with the Wisconsin Herd in the G League, where he can show the Bucks why they brought him in on a two-way deal. That path looks even more meaningful now that Stephen Thompson is likely headed out after the Minnesota Timberwolves signed him to an Exhibit 10 contract for training camp.
Those deals usually point to a familiar ending: if a player doesn’t stick in camp, he winds up with that franchise’s G League team. Thompson has been a fixture for the Herd for years, but this move strongly suggests his run there is coming to an end.
If it is, Thompson leaves behind a massive footprint. He is the Herd’s all-time leader in games played, points, minutes, and steals, and he also ranks in the top three in rebounds and assists. Replacing that kind of production won’t be simple, which is exactly why Jones now has a prime chance to step into a bigger role with the Herd.
For Milwaukee, Jones represents a strong bit of value. He was a second-round pick just over a year ago, and after barely seeing the floor as a rookie with the Indiana Pacers, the Bucks get a chance to see what the rest of the league missed. The upside is obvious.
At Marquette, Jones showed he can fill multiple roles. He’s a scorer who can get buckets from just about anywhere, but he also knows when to move the ball and set up a teammate. On defense, he brings active hands and finished this past season averaging 1.4 steals, making him a nuisance for opposing guards.
If Jones takes advantage of the runway in the G League, he could climb quickly. Milwaukee has already shown it can find and elevate young talent through two-way deals, and Jones now has the cleanest possible opening to make his case. With Thompson gone, the Herd’s spotlight is there for the taking.
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In return, the Herd brought back Cameron Parker and a first-round pick in the G League draft, giving Milwaukees affiliate a little more flexibility as it reshapes its roster. For Bucks fans, it is another reminder of how closely the NBA club and the Herd remain linked, with these kinds of transactions often hinting at the next developmental opportunity before it becomes a bigger story. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Fans Already Have An Awkward Jaime Jaquez Jr. Debate
Jaime Jaquez Jr.s first days around Milwaukee have already produced an off-court storyline Bucks fans probably did not expect. The recently traded wing was reportedly asked to leave a Milwaukee restaurant after bringing his 90-pound dog, Percy, inside, and a viral video from the scene showed a bystander voicing irritation about the dog being there. The setting appeared to be a place that was not dog-friendly, which helped turn a simple night out into a small social media flare-up.
For Bucks fans, the episode has become less about the restaurant itself and more about the awkward new reality of following a player whose every public move now gets filtered through the teams spotlight. The reaction online has been mixed, with NBA fans splitting over whether the issue was the dog, the venue, or just the kind of misunderstanding that gets amplified once a clip starts circulating. It is a strange little early chapter for Jaquez in Milwaukee, and one that already has people debating much more than basketball. [Read more 🡒]
Giannis Trade May Have Finally Fixed The Bucks Biggest Problem
Milwaukees deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo did more than reshape the roster in the short term. It also gave the Bucks something they had spent years quietly losing: future first-round draft capital. The package from Miami included unprotected picks in 2026, 2031 and 2033, a significant addition for a team that had already sent away many of its own future selections in earlier swings for players like Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard.
For a Bucks team built around a superstar with a long runway, those picks could matter in a different way than the ones the front office has chased before. Their value will depend not just on Milwaukees own direction, but on where Miami stands when those selections come due, and on how much of the Heats current core is still intact by then. It is the sort of return that can change the shape of a franchise years down the line, even if the full payoff is impossible to judge yet. [Read more 🡒]