One of the top reasons the Milwaukee Bucks brought in Taylor Jenkins was his background in player development. He propelled several up-and-coming Memphis Grizzlies teams during his time as head coach, and he's starting to do the same in Milwaukee. Just six games in, several of the Bucks' young players are showing rapid improvement and are already ahead of schedule.
Jenkins' School of Development underway
The four youngsters who are primarily taking off early in the season are Kasparas Jakucionis, Kel'el Ware, Brayden Burries, and Nate Ament.
The Milwaukee Bucks showed their faith in Jakucionis by cutting Kevin Porter Jr. just before the new season began, handing him the keys to the backup point guard spot. He has vindicated them, posting career highs essentially across the board. As the lone pure point guard on the standard roster, his vision as a floor general has been a welcome boost whenever he touches the floor.
Ware, despite playing fewer minutes than he did during his first two seasons in Milwaukee, is putting up a career-high 13 points per game. His rebounding and block numbers are down, but the big man is playing well in his decreased minutes. Continuing to learn from Jenkins while also being under Myles Turner's wing, Ware should only continue to get better.
Burries and Ament are perhaps the biggest surprises, considering many thought it would be a long shot for either to see prominent time this season. Yet, Jenkins has fully leaned on his rookies, and it is working out well so far. While they are very clearly works in progress, they are showing the type of energy, scoring, defense, and overall tenacity that a player needs to succeed at this level.
The youth is on the rise, and they all have higher levels to reach.
Further roster shakeup could truly unleased youth
All four players have someone ahead of them in the pecking order. Jakucionis is behind both Tyler Herro and the struggling Ryan Rollins. Ware sits comfortably behind Turner at center. AJ Green is ahead of Burries, though one has to wonder for how long at this rate. Kyle Kuzma's quietly solid start has Ament firmly second in command at the forward spot.
All will have to wait their turn, and that's fine. It gives them more time to develop before they fully get unleased on a greater scale.
Once the NBA Trade Deadline nears, the Milwaukee Bucks will have some difficult decisions to make. If their youngsters continue to impress, perhaps they move some of the veterans to open more time for these four. With the way Jenkins has them looking early, getting them on the floor as much as possible feels like a feasible goal, especially if the losses keep piling up.
After seeing how youth and development were placed on the back burner in Milwaukee over the last several years, the Jenkins era has already been a breath of fresh air.
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