With the arrival of the massive haul from the Miami Heat trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, the roster is likely not done changing any time soon. The Bucks got back a litany of talented pieces, but those pieces could clash with the skill sets already on the roster. And nobody is feeling that more than the longest-tenured Milwaukee Buck remaining on the team: AJ Green.
AJ Green's skill set isn't as unique anymore for the Milwaukee Bucks
AJ Green has been the Milwaukee Bucks' most talented sharpshooter for the past few years. His jump shot, while not the most orthodox in the world, is as pure as they come.
Over 30 percent of all the team's 3-point makes came from Green this season, while a staggering 84 percent of all his field goal attempts were threes, en route to a 41 percent 3-point percentage for the season and 47 percent from the corners. There's a reason why Green has shot over 40 percent from beyond the arc in all four of his professional seasons in the NBA.
He's no slouch on defense, either. According to Cleaning the Glass, opposing teams score -4.7 fewer points per 100 possessions whenever Green plays, putting him in the 87th percentile in defensive rating among guards. He finished the season with a net rating of +7.5 points per 100.
But therein lies the problem. Recently acquired Kasparas Jakucionis can do all of that and more. Jakucionis' 2.9 attempts per game from deep this season pale in comparison to Green's 7.1, which makes complete sense for a rookie, but his 42.3 percent shooting clip suggests there might still be some talent there to unearth. Just look at his shot dashboard on NBA.com/stats: 17-of-33 (51.5 percent) on left corner threes, and 12-of-17 (70.6 percent) on right corner threes. Just bonkers.
Even before the Milwaukee front office brought in a fresh wave of young assets, Green was already skating on thin ice when it came to securing consistent, long-term minutes under Taylor Jenkins. But with the arrival of Kasparas Jakucionis via the blockbuster Miami trade, the writing on the wall just got a whole lot bolder.
The Bucks are pivoting toward a younger, taller, and much more dynamic backcourt rotation. Every minute handed to Jakucionis is a minute stripped away from the margins of the roster. And when you look at the numbers, the logjam is impossible to ignore.
Are AJ Green's days in Milwaukee numbered going forward?
All this creates a fascinating, albeit ruthless, dilemma for Taylor Jenkins. In an ideal world, you hold onto a piece like Green simply for the culture. He's a homegrown sniper who knows the building, respects the grind, and gives you elite floor spacing in crunch-time minutes. But rebuilding teams don't operate in ideal worlds; they operate on development.
Every minute Green spends on the hardwood floating around the perimeter is a minute Jakucionis isn't getting to process high-level NBA read-and-react reps at full speed.
Besides, Green's trade value might never be higher than it is right now. A tested 41-percent shooter from deep who doesn't blow your defensive coverage is the exact kind of plug-and-play luxury contenders aggressively hunt for at the deadline. For Jon Horst, hanging onto Green out of sentimentality risks watching his role wither on a crowded bench when he could instead be flipped to squeeze even more future capital out of this roster pivot.
Green’s story in Milwaukee has been a great underdog tale, going from undrafted grinder to institutional locker-room glue. But roster crunches don't care about sentimentality. With Jakucionis sliding into the fold and demanding a heavy developmental runway, Green is looking more and more like the odd man out.
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