The Milwaukee Bucks are making it a priority to keep two players on their team as a way to build towards the future. It was reported by Michael Scotto of Hoopshype that the Bucks will exercise their rookie scale team options on Kel'el Ware's $7.14 million option and Kasparas Jakucionis's 4.02 million for the 2027-28 season.
The two were acquired this offseason in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade from the Miami Heat and were arguably two of the most valuable pieces from that deal. In his two seasons in Miami, Ware had a solid start to his career averaging 10.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game on 54% shooting from the field and 36.9% from the 3-point line.
He didn't exactly mesh well with head coach Erik Spoelstra as concerns about his effort, motor and playing time led to an up and down tenure, and looked forward to the new start in Milwaukee where he felt like he could flourish under head coach Taylor Jenkins.
So far, Ware has been one of the most productive players for the Bucks in this rough start to the season as he's the team's third-leading scorer and leads the team in rebounding averaging 13 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while shooting 46.8% from the field off the bench. Out of the six games he's played in this season, he recorded a double-double in three of them.
He has struggled shooting from the 3-point line only shooting 26.1% and there have been moments where the lack of effort have occurred on the court, but he's had a solid start early for his new team.
After Jakucionis's rookie season with the Heat where he averaged 6.2 points per game on 42.3% from the 3-point line, he was a piece that Miami did not want to trade to get Antetokounmpo, but eventually did to get the former MVP.
He showed glimpses in the 53 games he appeared in with the Heat last year, but was going to step into a much larger role on a young, rebuilding team for the Bucks, especially after the departure of Kevin Porter Jr.
Like Ware, Jakucionis comes off the bench for Milwaukee, but plays 22.5 minutes per game where he's produced 8.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4 assists per game on 45.5% shooting from the field. The 3-point efficiency has also taken a dip only shooting 23.5% from the downtown, but his ability to get his teammates involved, especially Ware on easy baskets have been a nice thing to see.
He's also earned time down the stretch in close games over starter Ryan Rollins at times , which shows how much Jenkins trusts him with the ball in crucial minutes. The two players are still young, with Jakucionis at 20 and Ware at 22, so bringing both players shows how much of a staple Milwaukee wants them to be for the future.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/bucks/onsi as The Bucks make decisions about two players acquired from Heat .
