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.