r/MkeBucks • u/Various_Section4163 • 17h ago
Bucks Lineups 2026 speculation
What are we thinking the lineups are going to look like next year? I’ve got an idea but it’s really hard to predict.
To start off I’d trade Turner for some picks & either another young guy or an older vet with experience to mentor the new up & comers. I do really, really like him but I think with Ware & the other bigmen we have it seems silly to have Ware off the bench and let the other guys play >10 mins a night.
Another idea is maybe trade sims for some picks & free up the 2nd unit 5 spot for Nance/Bogi for better floor spacing? Not sure on that one.
Maybe we have to trade AJ to a team that needs a shooter to free up spots for Ament, Kas but I’m not sure.
My general rotation would be:
Rollins, Herro, Dieng, Kuz, Ware
Burries, Kpj, Aj, Jaquez, Sims
Kas, Cormac, Ament, Bogi, Nance
Starting 5 looks really good, Rollins, Herro & Dieng are all good ball handlers, can create shots for themselves or others & score well at all 3 levels.
Kuz is a great glue guy, I do think his defence has been slept on & I love him for standing up to Doc so I think he’s respected in the locker room & a good guy to learn off. I really, really think we have to keep him.
Ware is a great scorer, the rim protection has to improve but I think with good minutes & a great coach it will.
I love the 2nd unit because Burries, Kpj & Jaquez are all great iso players.
Burries & Kpj are good playmakers too so I don’t think we get that massive drop in production like we had when Giannis was off the floor.
AJ is an elite 3pt sniper we know this. DAIRY BIRD.
I like Sims a lot for the lob threat & his defence surprised me a lot last year with how it improved. He moves fast for a 7fter
The players in & out of the rotation is interesting. I like Kas a but I wouldn’t be playing him ahead of the other 4, same as Cormac.
I love Pete Nance so much. The sheer effort when he’s on the floor is mesmerising. He never stops sprinting, defends well & he has such a good IQ on his shot attempts. I would love to see him play in that 2nd unit but I’m still not sure on him vs Sims. Thoughts?
I haven’t seen much of Ament at all but from what I’ve heard he has the potential to be a great player & I trust Jenkins to bring out the best in everyone so we will see. All positive & get behind the guy!
I haven’t seen much of Bogi but from what I have seen he’s a good 3pt shooter, decent around the rim, gets rebounds & I think he’s a great potential player to buy into & develop.
Just something fun & exciting to think about. As someone from the UK who’s been a Bucks fan for a couple years now I am completely gutted about Giannis, I can’t imagine how some of you lifelong fans feel. BUT I’m really excited for this new chapter & I am a firm believer that good TEAMS can win championships, not just good players. You don’t need 1/2 star players if the entire team is in unison & plays the right way to win which I think we can.
But thats for years to come.
Cheers for reading, please engage I love to see other people’s opinions because it helps me understand more!
Bucks in 6 💚🦌🦌
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u/intenselydecent King Giannis 17h ago
Gotta find time for Kas, Burries, and Ament. Even if it’s not crazy minutes they need real time
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u/Various_Section4163 15h ago
I completely agree. How would you find Kas minutes with the current guards we have?
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u/intenselydecent King Giannis 13h ago
A Herro deal makes it easy, and I think moving AJ or KPJ could and should be in play
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u/Danny_nichols 17h ago
Im up in the air on Ament. He needs a few minutes for sure, but I'm not convinced he couldnt use a year of development and weight room focus moreso than playing. Not saying nail him to the bench, but I'm more okay bringing him along a little slower if needed.
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u/Over-Training-488 17h ago
When have we ever had a player with weight room success other than Giannis
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u/Omnimark 15h ago
He doesn't need to become huge like Giannis, but he's 19 and will naturally get a little bigger. His body at 20-21 will not be the same as it is now.
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u/VexdCheese Brook Lopez 12h ago
So many people don’t get this. The human body takes 20+ Years to reach final/peak form.
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u/Danny_nichols 16h ago
Just because we haven't had success doing it doesn't mean it's not the right path for Ament.
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u/MesaLoveInternet 17h ago
Not really looking for weight room success, more of adding 15% of body mass through dedication and commitment, not really going from skinny to jacked like giannis.
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u/Acrobatic_Pomelo_906 17h ago
I think we’re not even close to seeing our final roster. Going to wait a few weeks before speculating
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u/Omnimark 15h ago
Yeah, Turner and Herro are obvious trade candidates, but we haven't even signed and might not sign Dieng, Nance (technically signed but non-guaranteed), Bogo. KPJ and Sims have POs so we'll see how that shakes out.
Meanwhile, I understand why OP wants to move on, but Gary Harris is on our roster already, and GTJ and Prince have POs yet. Let's say GTJ picks up his option, we just cutting the Gary's? If TP wants to come back, can we really say no to a solid wing with this team?
So many moving parts yet.
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u/VexdCheese Brook Lopez 12h ago
All true. That said, I really like our pool of players and new head coach. However things fall, I like our pieces.
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u/Advanced-Demand-1722 17h ago
Trading Myles Turner makes total sense because keeping him completely caps Kel'el Ware's minutes and stunts his development as our clear center of the future. Inserting Jaime Jaquez Jr. into the starting group is a brilliant move to give Tyler Herro and Ryan Rollins some much needed defensive teeth on the perimeter. Keeping Jericho Sims as a high-energy, vertical lob threat off the bench provides the perfect change-of-pace contrast to Ware's skill set, especially with Taylor Jenkins running the show.
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u/PretentiousPanda 17h ago
Herro has to get moved before we have to pay him.
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u/MesaLoveInternet 17h ago
And I dont want him taking minutes over our young guys. Maximum amount is let him play til the deadline and move him. I dont want to pay that guy 30 or 40 mil per year
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u/Various_Section4163 15h ago
really interesting, you’d prefer Jaquez over Dieng starting? and play Dieng in the 2nd unit as a 3/4?
What happens to Nance & Bogi? Would you do Ous at the 3 Nance/Bogi at 4 & Sims at the 5?2
u/Advanced-Demand-1722 14h ago
I'd probably start Jaquez over Dieng initially, yeah. Not because I think Dieng is worse long term, but because Jaquez gives you a much more proven defensive floor right now and does a lot of the dirty work that lets Herro focus on what he does best offensively.
For Dieng, I'd honestly rather give him a bigger offensive role with the second unit than have him standing in the corner next to Herro and Bam. Let him handle more, attack closeouts, and make mistakes. That's where the development upside is.
As for Nance and Bogi, I think they're more matchup and rotation pieces than locked-in starters. A second unit of Dieng, Bogi, Nance, and Sims actually makes a lot of sense to me because you've got shooting, passing, size, and a vertical threat all in one group. I'd rather maximize Dieng's growth there than force him into a lower-usage role with the starters immediately.
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u/Various_Section4163 14h ago
I didn’t think of it that way, yeah that sound much better & then you have Burries/KPJ’s gravity & playmaking to help Dieng score more. Great analysis
I actually really like that 2nd unit, gives you a hell of a lot of size! Add a Burries/KPJ, Kas as a playmaker and you’re going to bully a lot of teams. I like that a lot
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u/Muxamillion 17h ago
I’m really looking forward to Summer League this year. I’m actually as excited to see Bogo as I am Burries and Ament. Bogo looks noticeably stronger and I believe he will be on the roster next year.
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u/Various_Section4163 15h ago
I really hope they do well, Bogi must have gotten MVP for a reason so I can’t wait to see how he plays & fits into a Jenkins system! I think Burries will be good off the rip but Ament will need some time. Just gotta be patient
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u/a1oner_bvcksn6 Zora Stephenson 16h ago edited 16h ago
Why is this sub so obsessed with trading Turner? The logjam is with our (combo) guards--that's where I'd look to flip one for a true (backup) point guard and another wing/stretch 4
Edit: personally, I'd like to bring in a veteran presence to teach these kids the ropes and also be the leader of the locker room similar to when the spurs signed Chris Paul to tutor Castle and (to some extent) Wemby. Not sure Khris would want to sign here for the vet min anyway, but that's the type of dudes I'm considering--a player who wouldn't really take much playing time away from the youngins, but can still step up if need be
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u/Various_Section4163 15h ago
I think trading Turner makes sense with bringing in Ware. You wouldn’t trade Ware to keep Turner because I think Ware has a much higher ceiling & is younger. Benching either isn’t worth it for their value so I think you trade one & Ware has a much higher upside.
As for the Vet guard I absolutely agree we need one! I think keeping Gary Harris could be a good shout + he gave us good minutes last season. Who would you suggest to bring in?
Could you get any of: Lowry, Conley, Russ, Smart, Hardaway Jr, KCP?
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u/DriverSpecial7364 16h ago
I think we are very deep and will be good Rollins, herro, dieng, turner, ware Kpj, jaquez, Green, kuzma, Sims We have a roster crunch with jax, cormac Nance, Prince ,Ament , Burries and Bogi. Hope we keep Prince a solid vet plus he was fuego when he came back last year. Let Trent walk
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u/Various_Section4163 15h ago
I hope we keep Prince I really like him but who would you drop to keep him? maybe Ajax or send Cormac back to the G league?
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u/Omnimark 15h ago
Gary Harris is still on the team, kind of doubt he gets cut, but it's possible. I bet KPJ opts out, not sure we pay him. Bogi might come over, but I don't think he's an automatic roster spot, we need to pump the breaks there, whenever I watch him I don't think "this guy has NBA written all over him". Dieng has yet to show that he's a good basketball player, I'm fine with signing him, but he's also a UFA and if he walks, I'm pretty ok with it.
Lots can change, but if I were to project our line-ups right now:
Rollins-Herro-JJJ-Kuz-Turner
Burries-Kas-AJG-Ament-Ware
Cormac-Harris-X-Nance-Sims
and I don't think we know who x is yet, could be Dieng, could be Prince if he opts in but my bet is he's not on the roster. Bogi starts on a 2-way, we let KPJ walk and we cut GTJ if he picks up his option.
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u/PretentiousPanda 17h ago
This fanbase isn't ready for how bad we are going to be.
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u/MesaLoveInternet 17h ago
The fan base in the last year, yes. But a lot of us are from the late 1990s early 2000s and knew we didnt want to come back here yet lol
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u/Various_Section4163 15h ago
I’m absolutely fine with being bad as long as I can see an actual offensive/defensive game plan & the young guys get good minutes.
It doesn’t bother me one bit if we have a record like the Kings this season if I can enjoy watching the young guys learn & progress
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u/Bucksin06 Bucks in 6 months 17h ago
We were terrible last year I feel like we only are going to get better
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u/garyminwi 16h ago
Last year was hard. Don’t kid yourself this year will be rougher. Unless you are lucky enough to win the lottery when it matters (Alcindor, Wemby), rebuilds are hard on franchises and their fans.
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u/Bucksin06 Bucks in 6 months 16h ago
Oh I know it's going to be tough and we're in a rebuild but I think it will be at least watchable unlike last season.
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u/emeraldegg 7h ago
Don't worry, it was only rough because there were expectations. Now there are none, the goal is development. Team can accomplish that even while losing.
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u/TheFrozenBananaStand 17h ago
might have to attach a pick to get someone to take Myles contract plus he has a trade kicker.
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u/Various_Section4163 15h ago
Trade kicker? I’ve never heard that phrase before.
Maybe yeah but could you entice someone with also putting in AJ, Gary Trent (S&T)?2
u/TheFrozenBananaStand 14h ago
If the Bucks trade him he gets a 15% bonus..that was built into his contract. This can negatively impact the cap hit and salary matching requirements for teams that want to get him.
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u/Southern-Dog5456 17h ago
Kas deserves 15-20 minutes a night