Tyler Herro’s first real run as the Milwaukee Bucks’ lead option is coming fast, and the preseason slate will tell a lot about how that role looks in practice.
Milwaukee’s exhibition schedule includes games against the Minnesota Timberwolves, OKC Thunder, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, and Indiana Pacers. That’s not a soft landing. The Bucks will see a mix of defenders who can make life difficult in different ways, from Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels to Ayo Dosunmu, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, Royce O’Neale, Isaac Okoro, Andrew Nembhard, and Aaron Nesmith.
That group brings length, physicality, athleticism, and enough savvy to force Herro into a real test right away. Whether he’s dealing with the craft of Caruso, the pressure from Nembhard, or the reach of McDaniels, the assignment stays the same: win the matchup.
That’s a different world than the one Herro came from in Miami. There, he was operating as a complementary piece more often than not.
In Milwaukee, the spotlight shifts. He’s the lone recent All-Star on the payroll, and opponents are going to game-plan for him accordingly.
The days of slipping through as just another option are over.
Herro has said the right things since landing in Milwaukee. He’s excited to be back in his home state and represent them, and he believes the Bucks can outperform the expectations around them.
But talk only goes so far. What people will really judge is what he does once the ball is in his hands.
The good news for Milwaukee is that Herro isn’t walking into this alone. He already has chemistry with the players he arrived with, and he’ll have an excellent coach in Taylor Jenkins guiding the group.
Ryan Rollins and Brayden Burries should fit well alongside him in the backcourt, too. The Bucks don’t need Herro to reinvent himself.
They need him to be himself, play his game, and look like the best version of it.
The preseason won’t decide everything, but it will be the first chance to see Herro in this new role against real resistance. If he comes out sharp and makes noise against some of the NBA’s premier defenders, that will only build the optimism around what Milwaukee can become with him leading the way.
In Other News...
Bucks Rebuild Puts Their Drafting Problem Back In The Spotlight
MarJon Beauchamps move to Europe is another reminder of how uneven the Bucks track record has been when it comes to draft-and-develop work in recent years. A former first-round pick who never found much steady playing time in Milwaukee, Beauchamp also bounced through multiple trades before deciding to continue his career overseas, a path that fits the broader concern around how the team has handled young talent.
Now, with the Bucks in the middle of a rebuild, the picture is changing in a way that could finally give their rookies a better chance to grow. Brayden Burries and Nate Ament have both offered encouraging early performances, and the organizations next steps will say plenty about whether this reset can do what the previous era could not: turn draft picks into real rotation pieces instead of another reminder of what went wrong. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Could Be Setting Jaime Jaquez Jr. Up For A Bigger Move
Jaime Jaquez Jr. is already in the kind of place that tends to invite leaguewide questions. After finishing second in Sixth Man of the Year voting, the versatile wing heads into a season where his place in the long view matters as much as what he does in the box score, and Milwaukee's roster construction has a way of turning those conversations into real front-office calculations. The Bucks have enough financial and roster pressure hanging over the picture that any player with real value becomes part of a larger balancing act.
On a recent podcast, analyst Sam Vecenie floated the idea that Milwaukee could put Jaquez in a setting with stretch bigs Myles Turner and Kel'el Ware to highlight more of what he can do and, in turn, make him more appealing around the league. It's the kind of move teams sometimes explore when they want to keep optionality alive before the deadline, especially when they may have to weigh Jaquez against other pieces in the bigger roster picture. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Rollins Is Giving The Bucks A Tough New Decision
Ryan Rollins has turned a modest roster spot into one of the more interesting talking points around Milwaukee. The 24-year-old guard put together a strong season for the Bucks, averaging 17.3 points, 5.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and his affordable contract only adds to the appeal for a team trying to sort out its next phase.
That combination has created a real dilemma for the Bucks, because a player who helps on the floor and still carries trade value is exactly the kind of asset front offices get calls about. Milwaukee does not sound eager to move him anytime soon, but in a moment when every piece matters, it is the sort of decision that could linger if a compelling enough offer ever lands on the table. [Read more 🡒]