The Milwaukee Bucks have been turning to their youth early this season, notably by leaning on rookie forward Nate Ament. After replacing Ousmane Dieng in the rotation, Ament has shown flashes of his potential daily, looking like a real contributor. With Kyle Kuzma cooling down after his hot start, it may be the perfect time to demote him and see what Ament is really made of.
Jenkins is likely thinking about it
Taylor Jenkins doesn't care about seniority. He proved this when he benched Ryan Rollins, a player many said would be Milwaukee's best player this season, in favor of rookie Brayden Burries. If he is willing to do that to Rollins, Jenkins certainly won't be afraid to do that to Kuzma, who feels like he is not in the franchise's future plans by any stretch.
Rollins got pulled because his numbers were ugly, and Kuzma's aren't far off after a turbulent start to the new month. In two November contests, Kuzma is averaging four points on 27.3 percent shooting. While his 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game are nice, his overall offensive production just simply isn't cutting it. They'd be better off throwing Ament on the floor and seeing what he can do.
Ament, a raw rookie, has actually been more productive than Kuzma this month, averaging 6.5 points while hitting 40 percent of his shots. It's a small sample size, of course, but still, this alone should be enough for Jenkins to pull the plug on the Kuzma experiment. If Rollins had as short of a leash as he did, there is no reason for Kuzma's to be any longer.
Sooner or later, both rookies must be in the starting five.
Ament is the future; Kuzma is not
By promoting Burries and Ament, Jenkins is making it clear that he wants the rookies to be a big part of his future with the Milwaukee Bucks. Sooner or later, it's only natural that they are both maximized by being in the starting lineup together. Benching Kuzma and handing Ament another promotion is the easiest way to do it. It's not like it would be a controversial decision, either.
Although Kuzma started the season off hot, he's cooled down mightily. It's been like this for his entire time with the Milwaukee Bucks and is unlikely to change. A free agent after this season concludes, it's unlikely Kuzma sticks around for much longer. The only reason to keep starting him would be to try to up his trade value, but that feels like a lost cause at this point.
Jenkins might as well rip the band-aid off and see what Ament can do.
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