Milwaukee, WI

Top 3 Training Camp Battles to Keep an Eye Out for the Milwaukee Bucks

Published

1 year ago

September 5, 2024

Top 3 Training Camp Battles to Keep an Eye Out for the Milwaukee Bucks

MILWAUKEE — With training camp now officially less than a month away, Milwaukee Bucks basketball is almost ready to resume.

Heading into camp, it’s easy to assume that the top portion of Milwaukee’s rotation is already established. It feels more than likely that Damian Lillard, Gary Trent Jr., Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez will make up the starting five. Off the bench, it’s expected that Bobby Portis and offseason acquisitions Delon Wight and Taurean Prince will get a bulk of the reserve minutes in coach Doc Rivers’ rotation.

With the top eight players basically set in stone, there’s no huge camp battles that will determine starting spots or even signficant minutes off the bench this season. However, there still remains some battles that could impact the Bucks’ rotation and or roster for the forseeable future.

With all that said, let’s take a peak at the biggest training camp battles that the Milwaukee Bucks will have to key in on.

Heading into this season, it feels like AJ Green, AndreJackson Jr. or Pat Connaughton will get a bulk of the reserve minutes from the guard spot, and the other two will spend more of their time as spectators at the end of the bench.

Each of the three have cases as to why they should pull ahead of the others. Green showed he was able to build off a solid rookie campaign by remaining an elite three-point threat and showing improvement on the defensive end.

Jackson showed in little spurts that he can make an impact as a jack of all trades type player. And 2021 NBA champion Pat Connaughton is an experienced veteran who has shown he can be reliable in big-time moments.

As of now, it’s clear that Rivers remains high on Green. Last season, when Rivers took over as head coach during the middle of the season, Green saw a nice uptick in minutes. The Bucks also held him out of the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, which only further shows that they believe in Green’s development. That alone seems to give Green the edge over Jackson Jr., and it may just help him overtake Connaughton, who’s a potential trade candidate after having his own struggles over the past two seasons.

Next month’s training camp will prove pivotal for the entire trio of guards, with a pair of them looking to prove why they belong in the NBA and the other looking to showcase that he still has enough left in the tank to make a serious impact for a contender.

Throughout the years, players in their third NBA season often make a big jump. After struggling to make his mark during his first two seasons in Milwaukee, MarJon Beauchamp’s third go-round will be pivotal in determining if he has an NBA future.

Beauchamp played in the Summer League, which is something a rarity for a third-year player. During his time spent in the Summer League, Beauchamp didn’t showcase much of an improved skillset compared to last season. Much like his first two seasons, he showed little flashes of his athleticism and shot-making, but he also turned the ball over numerous times and showed poor shot-selection.

In a true make-or-break year, Beauchamp must enter camp with a chip on his shoulder. The guard needs to prove his worth by dominating in drills and show that he can be a reliable asset when going up against the veteran in scrimmages. If he can do that, then he could potentially earn some trust with the coaching staff, which is something he rarely was able to do last season.

Even so, it will be an uphill battle for Beauchamp to crack the rotation and move ahead o Green, Jackson Jr. and Connaughton, who are all fighting for their own respective spots in the depth chart. Time is running out for the former 24th overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft and so it won’t be easy. Beauchamp has to do whatever he’s asked in order to prove he provides value.

Being that both AJ Johnson and Tyler Smith are a pair of unpolished raw 19-year-olds, nobody should expect them to play considerable roles during their rookie campaigns. In fact, it would be surprising if they got any substantial minutes at all this season outside of garbage time.

Despite being expected to see limited court time, the two rookies will still want to come into camp hungry to showcase their abilities against a talented core of veterans.

The Bucks have been one of the oldest teams in the NBA over the last handful of seasons, including being named the oldest team in 2023-24, and it was exposed in the playoffs last season going against a young high-paced Indiana Pacers squad. A lack of youth and athleticism hurt this team when going up against the younger, more energetic squads from a year ago. Perhaps Smith and Johnson can use that to their advantage as they try and make a good first impression with the organization that took a chance on them.

Johnson’s speed and quickness is arguably his biggest weapon and he showed flashes of it earlier this offseason in the Summer League. Trying to stay with Johnson and contain him will be a fitting test for a roster filled with NBA veterans. As for Smith, he’s an athletic 6-foot-11 forward with a nice shooting touch that could make for some interesting battles with interior defenders such as Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis.

As 19-year-old rookies, neither player will be able to dominate the veterans. But being that have all the physical tools, they will have the capability to test them in certain moments. At the end of the day, this battle will only help further develop the pair of rookies and will hopefully set them up to succeed when their names are called upon later down the line.

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee judge calls out marijuana odor in courthouse

Published

9 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Milwaukee judge calls out marijuana odor in courthouse

A Milwaukee County judge on Thursday, Feb. 26, criticized the smell of marijuana inside the courthouse during a sentencing hearing, calling it inappropriate and illegal as visitors described the odor as common.

Posted February 26, 2026 9:30pm CST

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Bucks sign Cormac Ryan to two-way contract

Published

22 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Milwaukee Bucks sign Cormac Ryan to two-way contract

The Milwaukee Bucks signed guard Cormac Ryan to a two-way contract for the remainder of the regular season.
Ryan will be ineligible to play for the Bucks during the postseason.
Ryan averaged 20.4 points per game for the G League’s Wisconsin Herd, shooting 42.3% from three-point range.

The Milwaukee Bucks rewarded Cormac Ryan for his strong G League season with the Wisconsin Herd by signing him to a two-way contract. That will allow Ryan, 27, the chance to finish out the regular season with the Bucks. He would be ineligible for postseason play, however.

Ryan joins former Dominican High School star Alex Antetokounmpo and Pete Nance on two-way deals. The Bucks now have a completely full roster, with 15 guaranteed contracts as well.

Ryan was originally signed by the team in the summer, when he played in five summer league games, before inking a training camp contract. He appeared in two preseason games.

Ryan then played 29 games with the Herd and shot 42.3% from behind the 3-point line to average 20.4 points per game. He shot 48.9% from the field overall.

Ryan, a 6-foot-5 guard, played at Stanford (2018-19), Notre Dame (2020-23) and North Carolina (2023-24) before going undrafted. He averaged 10.4 points per game in college on 35.2% 3-point shooting. He made 40.7% of his 3-pointers in 2021-22 at Notre Dame.

He initially signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Ryan did not make it out of training camp in 2024 but signed to the Thunder’s G League affiliate.

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Bucks injury report: Is Giannis playing tonight vs. Cavs?

Published

2 days ago

February 25, 2026

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Milwaukee Bucks injury report: Is Giannis playing tonight vs. Cavs?

The Milwaukee Bucks have an opportunity to steal a victory from one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, they host the tired and diminished Cleveland Cavaliers tonight at Fiserv Forum.

Cleveland (37-22), in contention for a top three seed, beat the New York Knicks on Feb. 24 in Ohio. After flying into Milwaukee after the game, the Cavaliers ruled out MVP candidate Donovan Mitchell and reigning defensive player of the year Evan Mobley. All-star James Harden is questionable to play.

One player who will suit up for Cleveland is point guard Dennis Schröder, who was acquired at the deadline from Sacramento. The 32-year-old is often a thorn in the side of the Bucks, and he scored 24 points in a Kings victory over the Bucks early in the season.

The Bucks are also playing on the second night of a back-to-back, though they slept in their own beds after beating Miami at home. They have won seven of their last nine games.

Milwaukee (25-31) remains out of the postseason picture entirely, however, sitting in 11th place in the East.

The Bucks have beaten teams with winning records in consecutive games only twice this season, with wins over Golden State and New York (Oct. 28-30) and Orlando and Oklahoma City (Feb. 11-12).

And, the Bucks also have struggled against teams that do not have their stars. They lost twice to Denver without all-stars Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray (and even more starters), lost to Minnesota without all-stars Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert and even Portland without starters Jrue Holiday and Shaedon Sharpe. They also lost to Philadelphia twice without Joel Embiid and Paul George on a minute limit.

Is Giannis playing?

No.

Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is still ramping up in his rehab from a Jan. 23 soleus strain in his right calf, which he self-diagnosed as a four- to six-week injury. Antetokounmpo has done “live” practice work with teammates and coaches after the team returned home from New Orleans beginning on Feb. 21.

Before the game against Miami, Bucks coach Doc Rivers said Antetokounmpo has not gone five-on-five but does not need to. Rivers also added the two-time MVP has not suffered any setbacks with the injury.

What is the Bucks record without Giannis?

10-16

Milwaukee is 15-15 when Antetokounmpo plays any number of minutes.

Cavaliers on hot streak since trading for James Harden

Cleveland, which was the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference last year with 64 wins, doubled down its roster heading into this season with the most expensive team in the NBA. But, as the trade deadline approached in early February, the team had fallen short of expectations. So, they began shedding salary and talent, most notably homegrown all-star guard Darius Garland.

They shipped the injured 26-year-old to the Los Angeles Clippers for 36-year-old all-star guard James Harden and received an immediate boost, winning five straight and six of seven heading into the game against the Bucks.

But Harden did suffer a fracture in his right (non-shooting) thumb against the Knicks on Feb. 24.

Harden has been solid since arriving in Cleveland, averaging 18.9 points on 48.8% shooting from behind the 3-point line while also averaging 8.0 assists. His presence has rejuvenated all-star center Jarrett Allen, who has averaged 20.4 points on 76.7% shooting since the point guard’s arrival. Before Harden joining the team, Allen averaged 13.9 points on 60% shooting in his first 40 games.

Taurean Prince, out (neck surgery)
Giannis Antetokounmpo, out (right calf strain)

Milwaukee Bucks probable starters

Guards: Kevin Porter Jr., Ryan Rollins, AJ Green
Forward: Kyle Kuzma
Center: Myles Turner

Cavaliers injury report

Max Strus, out (left foot surgery)
Donovan Mitchell, out (right groin strain)
Evan Mobley, out (left calf injury management)
James Harden, questionable (right thumb fracture)

What time is the Bucks game?

Tip-off is schedule for 7 p.m. CT.

What channel is the Bucks game on?

The game will be simulcast locally on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin and WMLW The M with Lisa Byington, Marques Johnson and Melanie Ricks on the call.