Taylor Jenkins didn’t walk into a clean slate in Milwaukee. He walked into a backcourt crowded with names, contracts, and minutes, and his first real challenge as Bucks coach is already obvious: figuring out how to make room for Brayden Burries.
That won’t be simple. Burries flashed exactly why Milwaukee took him tenth, putting together a strong summer league with averages of 21.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals in 24.9 minutes per game.
At 20 years old, he’s being treated like the future of the franchise now that Giannis is gone. But potential doesn’t get you development on its own.
Minutes do. Ballhandling reps do.
And those are in short supply.
The Bucks have packed the guard room with Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez, and Kasparas Jakucionis arriving in the Antetokounmpo trade, while Kevin Porter Jr., Ryan Rollins, AJ Green, and Gary Trent Jr. are all back. Milwaukee also brought in Caris LeVert. Jenkins can’t give everybody touches, and if he’s not careful, Burries could end up getting squeezed instead of sharpened.
That’s the real test here. Burries may not be ready to run the show every night as a rookie, but the Bucks have to give him enough on-ball responsibility to let him grow into that role. If they bury him behind veterans, they risk slowing down the very player they drafted to help lead the next era.
There is a blueprint for Jenkins to lean on. He’s been in this spot before, arriving with the Grizzlies before Ja Morant’s rookie season and helping steer Memphis from rebuilding to the playoffs over six years. That background matters now, because Milwaukee needs the same kind of steady hand while it sorts out who plays, who sits, and who gets the developmental runway.
The pressure is amplified by the way the Bucks got here. The front office added Trent Jr. and took the Heat’s package for Giannis over a Celtics offer that featured Jaylen Brown. The roster logjam is part of the cost, and Jenkins is the one left to manage it.
Milwaukee’s draft history adds another layer. Jon Horst has been trying to fix a track record that hasn’t given the Bucks enough to lean on, and 2026 started well with two high-upside picks in a loaded class: Burries and Nate Ament. For that to mean anything long term, the team has to actually develop them.
Burries is the centerpiece of that challenge. Even Warriors coach Steve Kerr was said to be unhappy that he didn’t fall to Golden State at 11, which tells you the kind of talent Milwaukee believes it has. The Bucks need Jenkins to trust that talent, even if it means playing Burries over several veterans and accepting the growing pains that come with it.
That’s where the balance gets tricky. The depth can help create competition and teaching moments, but it can’t become an excuse.
Milwaukee can’t get trapped chasing every win at the expense of Burries’ growth. If the Bucks want him to become a star, they need to give him the room to learn on the ball, make mistakes, and keep building.
Jenkins was hired to guide a team in transition, and this is the part of the job that will define him early. The Bucks no longer have Giannis.
Their path to another star runs through the draft and through development. If Burries becomes that player, it will start with how Jenkins handles this first major test in Milwaukee.
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