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Two Position Battles to Watch for in Bucks Training Camp
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- Two Position Battles to Watch for in Bucks Training Camp
One thing is for certain: The upcoming season is going to be the first of probably a few rebuilding years as the Milwaukee Bucks look to get back on track following the trade of Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat .
Heading into training camp — set to begin on Sept. 29 — it wouldn't be a shocking revelation if all five starting positions were up for grabs in new head coach Taylor Jenkins' lineup.
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However, the likelihood of that is slim, with the Bucks still having solid talent in their ranks that is ready to either plug and play or continue developing.
If we assume that Ryan Rollins and Tyler Herro will make up the backcourt, and Myles Turner is secured as the center, two positions — both in the frontcourt — remain to be filled by surefire starters, setting up intriguing battles to watch out for in camp .
Small Forward: Jaime Jaquez Jr. vs. Ousmane Dieng
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Jaquez Jr. will enter training camp with a slight advantage. He is a better-known commodity in the league and, arguably more importantly, the Bucks acquired him in the Giannis deal. Chances are, they will want to see him contribute immediately.
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However, Dieng offers an interesting proposition with more upside.
The downside with Jaquez Jr. is that at 25, he is what he is — and that is a respectable scorer, a capable secondary playmaker, and a willing defender. The room for further improvement is smaller compared to Dieng, who is 23.
The Bucks picked up Dieng via trade from Charlotte in February. And while it was a lower-profile transaction, he has already had time to make some headway within the franchise.
Dieng impressed in Milwaukee at the back end of last season, averaging 11 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists across 30 games — including 20 starts. He notched his career-high 36 points (with 10 assists) against the Houston Rockets on April 1.
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He showed playmaking potential in bunches, racking up multiple high-assist games, such as his 12 dimes against the Brooklyn Nets . He adds rebounding and defensive capabilities that can be further tapped into at 6-foot-9.
After being drafted with the 11th pick of the 2022 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks , before an immediate trade to Oklahoma, Dieng has had to wait for his shot in the league. It never came when he was with the Thunder, as they were in the middle of constructing a championship contender around other young players. However, as soon as the Bucks gave Dieng a slice, he snatched the whole pie.
Dieng re-signed with the Bucks on a three-year, $17.5 million contract in June, clearly making him someone they want to invest even more in.
Who wins the battle in training camp will likely be decided by Jenkins' preferences. Does he value immediate stability or the potential for exponential growth over time?
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It should surprise nobody if Jaquez Jr. tips off the season as the starting small forward before shifting into a sixth-man role, with Dieng's upside becoming too hard to deny.
Power Forward: Kyle Kuzma vs. Nate Ament
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Ament is already a highly rated rookie whose value to the Bucks is far greater than Kuzma's, even before training camp begins.
Standing at 6-foot-10 and able to play the three and the four — labeled as a jumbo wing — the Bucks took the former Tennessee standout with the 13th pick in this year's draft.
The 19-year-old is still raw, but with better measurables than Kuzma and a clear future outlook on a rebuilding team, the starting power forward role is there for Ament to win.
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Ament, a former five-star recruit, averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in his one year at Tennessee. In the summer league, he showed flashes — tallying 11.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per tilt.
The most pleasing thing from the Bucks' perspective in the summer was that Ament showed significant improvement on his sub-40 percent college shooting efficiency. He shot 50 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from three-point range in Las Vegas.
Kuzma, 31, entering his 10th year in the league, is probably best suited to a veteran role coming off the bench at this point in his career.
He has been a decent addition to the Bucks since being traded from Washington in 2025. However, he hasn't done anything that would solidify him as a key piece in the post-Giannis rebuild by any metric.
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In his first full season in Milwaukee last year, Kuzma averaged 13 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists across 69 games. He shot 49.2 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from deep.
If maintained, those numbers would be considered solid in the Bucks' second unit. However, with that said, a rookie with Ament's potential should be able to hit those heights fairly quickly, even if he isn't having a red-hot freshman campaign.
All in all, this should be a far easier decision for Jenkins than the one regarding his small forward. But who knows? Maybe Kuzma hasn't said his last word as an impactful starter just yet.
