After a busy start to the offseason, things have been radio silent for the Milwaukee Bucks in the early stages of August. The front office clearly feels good about the moves they've made, but there is one more transaction left to make, and it revolves around Andre Jackson Jr.'s contract guarantee date, set for opening night of the 2025-26 NBA season.
Bucks have a couple of months to make their next move
By pushing back Andre Jackson Jr.'s contract date, the Milwaukee Bucks bought themselves a little bit of time to ponder their next move.
The Bucks already agreed to guarantee $800,000 of Jackson's $2.2 million salary if he allowed them to push it back. He did, so the next move is deciding whether or not they want to keep him. Given just how much they've already given him, keeping him wouldn't be the worst move from a financial point of view. A cheap, young depth piece is a worthwhile investment.
The frustrating thing about Jackson is that this shouldn't be a conversation. He started for a good bit of last season, flexing some legitimate defensive potential. However, his lack of growth, particularly in instances where the Bucks needed him to score, caused him to lose his spot in the rotation and sit on the sidelines more times than not. Yet, the potential is still there.
Milwaukee could also cut their losses and bring someone else in with Jackson's roster spot. There is still plenty of time left before opening night, so the Milwaukee Bucks could drag this out until the very end to see who else might become available. If there's a name out there they like to put the finishing touches on their roster, they have the roster room to bring them in.
If they do explore that route, there are several names still out there who have been linked to the Bucks this summer, including Malcolm Brogdon and Al Horford. However, it feels more likely that they'd use a free roster spot to bring back Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who has returned to basketball action after missing all of last season due to a torn Achilles. That's just pure speculation, though.
Bucks fans shouldn't get their hopes up regarding clarity on Andre Jackson Jr. anytime soon, as the front office has no reason to pounce just yet. Yet, the decision date inches closer with each passing day.
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