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Bucks to waive draft pick Tyler Smith; Andre Jackson and Amir Coffey earn roster spots
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- Bucks to waive draft pick Tyler Smith; Andre Jackson and Amir Coffey earn roster spots
The Milwaukee Bucks have rounded out their 15-person roster for the 2025-26 season , as they are expected to waive 2024 second-round draft pick Tyler Smith by the Oct. 20 deadline to finalize rosters, meaning guard Andre Jackson Jr. and veteran wing Amir Coffey won the training camp competition for roster spots.
"I love it," Jackson said early in training camp about the competition fostered by general manager Jon Horst and head coach Doc Rivers. "We've got a lot of competitive dudes. We're all like-sized, we're all capable, so it's good, it's good competing. We all got that spirit, too. We've got 'Scoot' ( Kevin Porter Jr. ), Bobby (Portis Jr.), all competing, talking, going back and forth and I think challenging each other is going to help us when we get to game night going against an opponent."
Milwaukee Bucks guard Andre Jackson Jr. (44) attempts to block a shot by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the third quarter of the Emirates NBA Cup championship game on Dec. 17, 2024, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Jackson, acquired via a draft night trade with Orlando in 2023, will have the remaining $1.4 million of his contract guaranteed after he agreed to move his guaranteed-by date to Oct. 20 in exchange for $800,000 back in July. Jackson, who will turn 24 years old in November, played in 67 games for the Bucks last season and started 43. That number did not include his start against Oklahoma City in the NBA Cup final (stats do not count for that game), in which he helped limit eventual MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to 8 of 24 shooting.
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Jackson did not play much, though, after Porter was acquired at the trade deadline.
More: Why a new look can push the Milwaukee Bucks back into contention around Giannis Antetokounmpo
Coffey signed with the team in August on a non-guaranteed training camp deal, so that contract will be converted to a guaranteed minimum signing. The 28-year-old, six-year veteran was confident he would make the team throughout camp and Rivers mentioned Coffey as a potential starting small forward in certain lineups .
"Kind of just come into a new system, learning a new role, just trying to show what I can do through all the practices (and) whenever opportunities were given in a game," Coffey said on Oct. 14. "Trying to just hone in on every day, try to treat every day like a championship whether that's practice or the game. Just trying to a learn a new system, try to do the right thing and do what the coaches ask of me, whether that's in a game or practice and just go from there."
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Smith, who will turn 21 on Nov. 2, played in 23 games as a rookie last season after being selected No. 33 in the second round. The 6-foot-11 forward did not shoot well in summer league (20.7% in five games) and played in just two preseason games. Smith will make $1.95 million this season; the remaining two seasons on his rookie deal were not guaranteed.
The Bucks traded AJ Johnson , their first-round pick in 2024, to Washington along with Khris Middleton last February and waived 2023 second-round pick Chris Livingston on Oct. 16 , which leaves the team with just one original draft pick on their roster in Giannis Antetokounmpo (No. 15, 2013) .
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Bucks waive draft pick Tyler Smith, set roster for season
