The Bucks’ early-season success won’t be measured the usual way this year. Wins still matter, but the bigger test is whether Milwaukee can sort out what it has, figure out what still fits, and avoid getting tricked by a few good nights into making the wrong long-term call.
For years, the assignment was simple: keep Giannis Antetokounmpo healthy, surround him with enough help, and show up to the playoffs with a real shot at a title. That version of the Bucks is gone now.
Antetokounmpo is in Miami, starting fresh with the Heat, and Milwaukee is working through a rebuild of both the roster and the cap sheet. Some of the baggage from that previous push is still on the books, including contracts tied to a team the Bucks no longer are.
That leaves the franchise in a tough spot. The top of the Eastern Conference has too many teams with more talent right now, and Milwaukee’s draft-pick situation was thinned out during its all-in run with Antetokounmpo.
So the focus has to shift. Early in the season, the Bucks need to find wins in ways that don’t always show up in the standings.
One part of that is getting useful production from Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. while remembering the contract reality around both players. Herro has already won Sixth Man of the Year, and Jaquez Jr. finished second in that voting.
Both are good players in their mid-20s, and both can help plenty of teams. The trick is that they may ultimately make more sense somewhere else, depending on what they can command.
For now, Milwaukee needs Herro doing what he does best - shooting and the floater - and Jaquez Jr. attacking downhill, with the occasional spin thrown in. If that goes well, the Bucks might even be able to flip one or both later and start rebuilding the pick stockpile.
The same kind of logic applies to Myles Turner and Kyle Kuzma. On paper, both are more accomplished than plenty of the players around them.
Turner has started in an NBA Finals, and Kuzma has won a championship as a third option. But their value to Milwaukee isn’t just what they do on the floor.
It’s also what they could bring back. Turner still has years left on his deal beyond this season, and he should have an early role, especially since he was supposed to pair with Antetokounmpo.
Kuzma, meanwhile, lost time to Ousmane Dieng once the playoffs got out of reach.
Still, neither veteran should come at the expense of the younger names Milwaukee needs to evaluate. Dieng, Kel'el Ware, Nate Ament and others have to stay in the mix.
That’s the balancing act for new coach Taylor Jenkins. The hope is that by December or January, the Bucks either have made themselves appealing enough to another team or they decide the experiment has run its course and hand more of the job to the younger group anyway.
The backcourt brings its own version of that problem. Gary Trent Jr.’s contract stands out, but there isn’t one obvious player who has to be pushed aside.
Herro, Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr. give Milwaukee a workable guard trio on their own, all in their 20s. The longer view, though, points to Bucks 2026 first round pick Brayden Burries and maybe Heat 2025 first round pick Kasparas Jakucionis, who flashed enough promise to sneak into the back end of Miami’s rotation last season.
The challenge is obvious: you can’t keep five or six guards in steady rotation, but you also can’t bury Burries and Jakucionis and expect them to develop. They need reps, and they need room to make mistakes.
In that sense, some early losses might actually help. Too many wins could convince a coach to stick with the safer veterans and keep the younger players on the bench too long.
Jenkins, though, has seen this kind of process before in Memphis, where it worked until a range of factors eventually put a ceiling on it. That background matters here. The Bucks need him to find the right line between competing now and building something for later.
In Other News...
Bucks Have A Young Reclamation Project Worth Watching
The Bucks have already shown they were paying attention to Ryan Dunn once before, and that could matter again if Phoenix starts listening on its young forward. Milwaukee passed on Dunn in the draft, but his profile still fits a team that has leaned on length, defense and development projects around the edges of its roster. For a Bucks staff that has had success helping players find roles, Dunn remains the sort of prospect worth revisiting if he becomes available.
What makes him interesting is the same thing that makes his situation unsettled in Phoenix. Dunn has flashed real defensive value, but the offensive side of his game still needs a lot of work, and the Suns crowded forward group gives them a practical reason to consider moving him before the deadline. If Milwaukee wants another swing on a young reclamation project, Dunn offers exactly the kind of upside-laced gamble that could become more appealing the closer the trade market gets. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Bench Could Make This Role Easier Than Fans Expect
The Bucks have reason to feel good about how their second unit might function this season, especially if the bench keeps stretching the floor the way it is built to do. Milwaukee is expected to lean on a group with several players known for their three-point shooting, which should help keep defenses honest and give the second unit some much-needed spacing around the ball.
Kevin Porter Jr. looks like the leading candidate to handle backup point guard duties, and his passing and playmaking should make life easier for everyone else in that group. Kasparas Jakucionis is also in the mix as a possible future option, giving the Bucks another name to watch as they sort out who ultimately controls those minutes behind the starters. [Read more 🡒]
Jason Kidd Still Looms Large As Giannis Enters A New Chapter
Jason Kidd may be away from the sideline for now, but he has not drifted far from the game or from the people he helped shape. While spending more time with his family, Kidd remains open to another NBA coaching job and has kept himself connected to basketball in a quieter way, offering informal mentorship and staying in touch with players he has known well. For Bucks fans, that matters because his time in Milwaukee still sits as an important part of Giannis Antetokounmpos rise.
Kidd continues to communicate with Giannis and Jalen Brunson, a reminder that his influence has extended beyond any one stop in his coaching career. Even as Giannis moves into a new chapter, the relationship between the two is still part of the backdrop, and Kidds role in helping develop the star during his Bucks years is still recognized. What comes next for Kidd is unresolved, but the league has not heard the last of him. [Read more 🡒]