NBA Training Camp is just a few days away, and the Milwaukee Bucks have a big battle to decide in the coming weeks ahead of the regular season. Andre Jackson Jr. and Amir Coffey will both be fighting it out to earn their keep on the Bucks roster.
The Thanasis Antetokounmpo signing has enabled the Bucks to complete their full 15-man roster. Jackson's deal for the 2025-26 season isn't fully guaranteed, and Coffey signed a training camp deal with the team. With the wing depth and defense key for the roster, there is still a chance that either could be on the team come October 21, but it would require the Bucks to trade away another player. That hinges on these two proving themselves.
Jackson vs. Coffey for the chance to stay with the Bucks
For the first time in a long time, it felt like the Bucks had made a successful draft pick with Jackson. The 36th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft played in 57 games during his rookie season, starting nine and showing plenty of promise. Early on in the 2024-25 season, he found his way into the starting backcourt with Damian Lillard, providing much-needed perimeter defense. He was a huge reason behind the NBA Cup win.
Sadly, a lack of offensive development led to him being dropped from the rotation completely at the end of the regular season. He finished the season averaging 3.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 14.6 minutes per game. We have seen guards that aren't necessarily offensive forces develop their games. Dyson Daniels with the Atlanta Hawks is an example of a defensive monster that has been able to add little flashes of offense to develop his game. Jackson has struggled to show that development so far.
Coffey has six years in the league under his belt, and the 28-year-old surprisingly didn't have many suitors in free agency. With the LA Clippers last season, he averaged 9.7 points and 2.2 rebounds on shooting splits of .471/.409/.891 in 24.3 minutes per game. Defensively, he is still more than capable of holding his own.
The difference in perimeter shooting is going to be key in this battle. Milwaukee has surrounded Giannis Antetokounmpo with shooters for the upcoming season. Wing defense is always going to be key, but the shooting upside of Coffey may earn him a deal. Chris Livingston re-signing has also added to the idea that he had overtaken Jackson on the depth chart.
If Jackson were to win this battle, that could see the Bucks guarantee his deal and make a trade to keep him around. Tyler Smith feels a bit like a forgotten piece of this Bucks team, with the addition of Myles Turner and the re-signing of both Bobby Portis and Jericho Sims leaving him out of the frontcourt picture. This could lead to what would be the Bucks admitting the draft selection of Smith didn't work out, should they trade him to keep Jackson or even Coffey.
It has been a busy offseason for the Bucks, with changes throughout the roster. This battle is the most intriguing of all the position battles in training camp, and the roster movement may not be done yet.