Kasparas Jakucionis was reportedly one of the players the Milwaukee Bucks insisted be included in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade earlier this summer. Now, they’ll get an up-close look at whether that persistence was justified.
After developing in FC Barcelona’s junior academy in Spain, Jakucionis spent his lone collegiate season at Illinois, where he flashed an impressive all-around game. In just under 32 minutes per game, he averaged 15 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists.
That was enough for the Miami Heat to select him with the 20th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
His rookie campaign was much quieter. Jakucionis averaged just 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game while struggling to carve out a consistent role in Miami’s rotation.
Still only 20 years old, Jakucionis has plenty of development ahead of him. He didn’t look particularly comfortable during Summer League with the Bucks, but Milwaukee clearly remains confident in his long-term potential.
That makes the next step clear.
Here’s one realistic and one ambitious goal for Jakucionis this season.
Realistic goal: Establish himself as a regular rotation player
Much like his situation in Miami, Jakucionis enters the season facing a crowded depth chart at guard.
Ryan Rollins and Tyler Herro are likely to start at the 1 and 2 for Milwaukee, while Kevin Porter Jr. could also slide into the starting lineup if the Bucks believe they can survive with a smaller three-guard unit.
Rookie Brayden Burries is coming off a breakout Summer League and will be pushing hard for minutes of his own. Head coach Taylor Jenkins also has to find a role for AJ Green.
That makes statistical benchmarks almost secondary for Jakucionis. None of them matter much if he can’t first get off the bench.
The best way for a 20-year-old guard to develop is to play through mistakes, adjust to NBA speed and learn how to impact games without dominating the ball. Jakucionis may not get a massive role right away, but earning consistent minutes would represent meaningful progress.
Sure, it would be nice if he put up numbers along the way. For now, though, the first victory is becoming someone Jenkins trusts enough to keep in the rotation.
Ambitious goal: Make Kevin Porter Jr. expendable
If Jakucionis can earn a regular role, the next step is showing enough promise to make one of the guards ahead of him on the depth chart expendable.
The most obvious candidate is Kevin Porter Jr.
Porter is entering the final year of his contract and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. After earning $5.4 million this season, he’ll likely be looking for a sizable raise on his next deal.
That could create an opportunity for Jakucionis.
Like Porter, Jakucionis brings an intriguing combination of size and ball-handling.
At 6-foot-5, he has shown enough playmaking ability to develop into a lead ball-handler for an NBA team eventually. He can see over the defense, make passes from different angles, and generally plays with an unselfish approach.
There are still plenty of rough edges. His turnovers were a major concern in college, where he averaged 3.7 per game, although he showed improvement in that area during his rookie season.
If Jakucionis takes a significant step forward, Milwaukee could feel much more comfortable moving Porter before the trade deadline rather than risking losing him for nothing next summer.
That would accomplish two things at once: create a larger role for Jakucionis while potentially bringing another asset back to Milwaukee.
For a Bucks team still figuring out what its next core will look like, that would be a pretty meaningful development. Jakucionis doesn’t need to become the point guard of the future overnight. He just needs to show enough that Milwaukee starts wondering whether he could be part of that answer.
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