Milwaukee Bucks

Front office and bench

Ownership

Wesley Edens and Jimmy Haslam

General Manager (top basketball executive)

Jon Horst since 2017

President (business operations)

Peter Feigin since 2013

Assistants

• Darvin HamAssistant coach (holdover from previous staff)
• Brad JonesAssistant coach
• Patrick St. AndrewsAssistant coach
• Vince LegarzaAssistant coach
• T.J. FordAssistant coach
• Johnny CarpenterAssistant coach and head of player development
• Isaiah WilkinsAssistant coach

The direction

What the franchise says and what its moves show

Milwaukee enters the post-Giannis era denying it's a rebuild: Horst talks about building with players chosen on purpose, who are entering their prime and fit the style they want. The team mixes veterans (Turner, Kuzma, LeVert, Trent) with a young group acquired from Miami and through the draft (Herro, Jaquez, Ware, Burries, Ament). Jenkins lays out a simple philosophy built on competing together and improving every day.

Building around

Tyler Herro Kel'el Ware Jaime Jaquez Jr. Brayden Burries Nate Ament

What they have said

• He describes it as a build, not a rebuild; every player in the Giannis trade was a specific target based on age and fit.

  General manager Jon Horst · Bucks Media Day (Urban Milwaukee / Brew Hoop) · September 2026

• He calls for daily consistency and sums up his approach in three pillars: compete, do it together and get better, without overcomplicating it.

  Head coach Taylor Jenkins · NBA.com · September 2026

What the data points to

• Losing does not help Very likely

  • It does not own its 2027 first-round pick: if it loses, someone else celebrates.
  • It has to compete every night even without the roster for it.
• Will hit free agency with cap space Very likely

  • It has 116.8 M committed for next season: about 59.7 M under the cap (estimated).
  • Expensive free agents can only go to teams with space or via sign-and-trade.
• Extension coming Very likely

  • Kel'el Ware is finishing his rookie deal and producing: he needs to be locked up before he reaches the market.

Moves

Summer 2026

• Taylor Jenkins hired as head coach (April 30) after Doc Rivers stepped down.
• Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis traded to Miami (July 6) for Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel'el Ware, Kasparas Jakučionis, the No. 13 pick (Nate Ament) and 2031 and 2033 first-round picks plus a 2030 swap.
• Draft: Brayden Burries (No. 10), Nate Ament (No. 13, via Miami) and Malique Lewis (No. 60).
• Caris LeVert arrives from Detroit in exchange for Taurean Prince and Gary Harris.
• Gary Trent Jr. re-signs (four years, $64M), a contract the NBA is investigating.
• Ousmane Dieng (three years) and Bogoljub Marković (four years, second-round exception) sign; Kam Jones on a two-way deal.
• Departures: Thanasis and Alex Antetokounmpo (Greece) and Andre Jackson Jr. (Toronto).

Latest

• Oct 17 Waived Waived Fs Johni Broome, Pete Nance, G Marcus Garrett and C Jake Stephens.
• Oct 17 Waived Waived Fs Johni Broome and Pete Nance. Waived C Jake Stephens and G Marcus Garrett.

The roster

16 NBA contracts · 2026-27 salaries

Strengths and weaknesses

Today's roster, facet by facet (league rank)

• Defense 22nd
• Rim protection 21st
• Three-point shooting 4th
• Playmaking 22nd
• Scoring 16th
• Rebounding 20th
• Offensive impact 23rd

Roster holes

• Weak in offensive impactWith today’s rotation it ranks 23rd in the league in offensive impact.
• Weak in defenseWith today’s rotation it ranks 22nd in the league in defense.
• 1 contracts too manyHas 16 NBA contracts and only 15 fit in the regular season: someone will be waived or traded.

Contracts and extensions

Expiring this season

• Jaime Jaquez Jr. 24 years old · paid 5.9 M Restricted free agent Re-signing him would cost about 18.2 M a year
• Tyler Herro 26 years old · paid 33.0 M Salary coming off the books
• Kevin Porter Jr. 25 years old · paid 5.4 M Salary coming off the books
• Jericho Sims 27 years old · paid 2.8 M Salary coming off the books
• Caris LeVert 31 years old · paid 14.8 M Salary coming off the books
• Kyle Kuzma 30 years old · paid 20.3 M Salary coming off the books

Bargains (produce far above their salary, for several years)

None.

Pricey but short (paid more than they produce, but ending soon)

• Tyler Herro33.0 M · final year

Money and picks

Payroll 191.4 M Cap 165.0 M Tax 200.4 M 1st apron 209.0 M 2nd apron 221.7 M

Payroll

191.4 M · over the cap

Distance to each line

tax: 9.1 M below · 1st apron: 17.7 M below · 2nd apron: 30.3 M below

Next summer

116.8 M committed · 59.7 M in cap space

First-rounders it can trade

2031 · holds 2 other teams’ firsts and 7 swaps

Radar and possible trades

Who could ask about its players

• OKC → Kevin Porter Jr.expiring contract, produces above his salary
• PHI → Kevin Porter Jr.expiring contract, produces above his salary
• CLE → Kevin Porter Jr.expiring contract, produces above his salary
• TOR → Kevin Porter Jr.expiring contract, produces above his salary

A trade that works under the CBA

Trade pieces

Assets

Ryan Rollins (worth 12.6 M more than his salary), Kel'el Ware (worth 11.6 M more than his salary), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (worth 12.2 M more than his salary), Kevin Porter Jr. (worth 9.1 M more than his salary)

Contracts that weigh

Gary Trent Jr. (overpaid by 15.3 M), Myles Turner (overpaid by 20.2 M)

To match salaries

Tyler Herro (33.0 M), Kyle Kuzma (20.3 M), Caris LeVert (14.8 M)