Up: 2026-27 Fantasy Basketball Encyclopedia
Executive fantasy read
The Bucks are no longer a Giannis-centered contender. The July 6 trade sent Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to Miami for Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr, Kasparas Jakučionis, Nate Ament, future draft capital, and a swap. Milwaukee then added Caris LeVert, re-signed Gary Trent Jr and Ousmane Dieng, and filled its third two-way slot with Rafael Castro. That leaves a young core, several overlapping veteran guards and wings, and an unusually wide range of plausible outcomes.
Giannis and Portis together took 53 minutes and 41.3 points a night out of the rotation — Giannis 27.6 points in 28.9 minutes across 36 games, Portis 13.7 points in 24.2. That vacated volume is the whole reason the minute model below runs above 2025-26 workloads for the returning core rather than below them.
Offseason ledger
| Date | In | Out | Terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-23 | Pete Nance converted to standard | Cam Thomas waived | Multi-year standard deal for Nance |
| 2026-06-24 | Rafael Castro (C, George Washington, undrafted) | — | Two-way; ~$679K if held all season |
| 2026-06-26 | Brayden Burries (No. 10), Nate Ament (No. 13) | — | Rookie scale |
| 2026-06-30 | Ousmane Dieng re-signed | — | Three years, $17.5M through 2028-29 |
| 2026-07-06 | Herro, Ware, Jaquez, Jakučionis, picks | Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis | Three firsts, a swap, a second |
| 2026-07-08 | Caris LeVert | Taurean Prince, Gary Harris | Trade with Detroit |
| 2026-07-12 | Gary Trent Jr re-signed | — | Four years, $64M (~$15.2M in year one); under NBA circumvention review |
| Earlier 2026 | Ousmane Dieng (three-team) | Cole Anthony, Amir Coffey to Phoenix | Nick Richards to Chicago |
Dieng's new money matters to the roster-cut math below: he is no longer a minimum-salary cut candidate. Trent's deal is fully guaranteed and effectively untradeable while under investigation, which argues against — not for — his being one of the two contracts that disappear.
- Best redraft bets: Herro's scoring, Ryan Rollins' assists and steals, Ware's rebounds, and Myles Turner' threes plus blocks.
- Best dynasty bets: Ware, Brayden Burries, Herro, Turner, and Ament, with Jakučionis as the patient guard-development play.
- Best category specialists: Turner for blocks and threes, Rollins for steals, AJ Green and Trent for threes, Ware for rebounds and field-goal percentage. Green is the cheapest source of two-plus makes a night on the board after setting the franchise single-season three-point record.
- Biggest traps: paying for last season's minutes from any veteran wing, assuming Kevin Porter Jr. is healthy, or treating the current 17-standard-player roster as opening-night final.
- Preferred team builds: Ware fits punt-FT% or rebounding builds; Turner fits scarce-center-stats builds; Herro fits points/threes/FT%; Rollins fits steals/assists but carries turnover risk.
Team context and outcome projection
| Item | Base projection | Plausible range | Fantasy meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Record | 30-52 | 26-56 to 36-46 | Lottery favorite with a fringe play-in ceiling |
| East finish | 12th | 10th-14th | Development and trade priorities can overtake winning late |
| Pace | 10th-14th | 7th-20th | Taylor Jenkins should create more possessions than a slow rebuild would |
| Offense | 23rd | 18th-27th | Herro shot creation is useful; half-court efficiency and health are uncertain |
| Defense | 21st | 15th-26th | Turner and Ware supply rim protection, but the perimeter mix is unsettled |
Milwaukee finished 32-50 in 2025-26 and was 13-33 without Giannis, according to Brew Hoop's July 16 review. The base case is roughly the same record with a very different possession tree: Herro becomes the main scorer, Rollins and Jaquez handle more creation, and Ware gains starter-level usage. The high case requires Herro and Porter to be healthy, the useful veterans to remain past the deadline, and the young frontcourt to defend. The low case is a deliberate veteran sell-off followed by developmental lineups.
Roster construction warning
As of the July 18 cutoff, Milwaukee carries 17 standard contracts plus three two-way players (Cormac Ryan, Kam Jones, Rafael Castro). The regular-season limit is 15 standard contracts, so at least two standard players must be traded, waived, or otherwise removed before opening night. All three two-way slots are filled, so there is no open developmental spot to absorb a squeezed standard player.
Likely pressure points, not reported decisions:
- Nine players can credibly claim guard or wing minutes: Herro, Rollins, Porter, Jakučionis, Burries, Green, Trent, LeVert, and Jaquez.
- Turner and Ware are both starting-caliber centers; using Ware at power forward can raise their shared ceiling but creates spacing and matchup questions.
- Kyle Kuzma, Herro, Turner, Porter, LeVert, Green, and Trent could all draw trade interest during a rebuild.
- Pete Nance, Jericho Sims, Bogoljub Marković, and the veteran-wing cluster are the clearest opening-night squeeze points, but contract economics can matter more than basketball fit.
Provisional depth chart
This is a fantasy workload map, not a claim about Taylor Jenkins's announced starters.
| Position | First group | Next group | Development / contingency |
|---|---|---|---|
| PG | Rollins | Jakučionis, Porter | Kam Jones (two-way) |
| SG | Herro | Burries, Green | Trent, Cormac Ryan (two-way) |
| SF | Jaquez | Ousmane Dieng, LeVert | Burries, Trent |
| PF | Kuzma | Ware, Dieng | Ament, Marković, Nance |
| C | Ware / Turner | Sims | Nance, Marković, Rafael Castro (two-way) |
Public projections disagree on the center order. Yahoo's post-trade lineup piece starts Ware at center with Kuzma at power forward and Turner outside the starting five; SI's Bucks site and Roundtable both start Turner at center, with Ware at power forward (Roundtable) or off the bench (SI). Turner is simultaneously the most-cited Milwaukee trade candidate — Toronto (a Poeltl/Gradey Dick framework), Atlanta and Charlotte have all been linked, though reporting says Milwaukee is fielding calls rather than actively shopping him. If Turner moves, the backup-center minutes go to Jericho Sims and two-way Rafael Castro; Castro is the roster's most actionable waiver contingency.
Correction 2026-07-18: the C row previously read "Turner / Ware" with Ware also listed as the next group at PF. Reordered to Ware-first and Castro added as the contingency after the Yahoo lineup projection and the Castro two-way signing (2026-06-24); the source disagreement is now stated rather than resolved silently.
Fully healthy representative-game minutes
The table sums to exactly 240 minutes across a twelve-man rotation. It is a portfolio projection for a representative healthy game, not a prediction that all 17 players dress. Deep-roster and two-way names sit in a conditional block below, outside the 240 constraint, because a real rotation does not distribute minutes to sixteen players.
| Player | Min | Primary workload thesis |
|---|---|---|
| Ryan Rollins | 32 | Lead-guard assists and point-of-attack steals; 32.1 MPG in 2025-26 |
| Tyler Herro | 31 | First scorer and late-clock creator, with rest days after a 33-game season |
| Kel'el Ware | 28 | Starting-caliber big absorbing the Portis and Giannis frontcourt volume |
| Jaime Jaquez Jr. | 28 | Connector, secondary creator, transition wing |
| Myles Turner | 25 | Stretch-five spacing and primary shot blocking; trade-sensitive |
| Kyle Kuzma | 18 | Veteran forward scoring until a role change or trade |
| AJ Green | 18 | Movement shooting; franchise-record 232 threes at .419 in 2025-26 |
| Brayden Burries | 16 | Rookie wing with a real developmental runway |
| Gary Trent Jr. | 14 | Bench threes and steals on a guaranteed $15.2M salary |
| Kasparas Jakučionis | 12 | Second-unit organizer |
| Kevin Porter Jr. | 10 | Conditional bench creation after April knee surgery |
| Ousmane Dieng | 8 | Switchable forward on fresh three-year money |
| Total | 240 |
Conditional, outside the 240 (activation- or trade-dependent): Caris LeVert, Nate Ament, Jericho Sims, Bogoljub Marković, Pete Nance, and two-ways Cormac Ryan, Kam Jones, Rafael Castro. Any veteran trade — Turner is the likeliest — moves 20-25 minutes into this block, chiefly to Ament, Sims and Castro.
Correction 2026-07-18: the previous table spread 240 across sixteen players and gave the top six only 146 minutes, against a real-rotation norm of roughly 180-195. The consequence was that every returning Buck was projected below his own 2025-26 workload — Rollins 27 vs 32.1 actual, Herro 28 vs 31.3, Turner 23 vs 26.9, Green 10 vs 29.1, Trent 8 vs 21.2 — even though Giannis and Portis vacated 53 minutes a night that were never reallocated. Rebuilt as a twelve-man rotation (top six now 162) with the deep roster moved to a conditional block. The three largest individual changes: Ware 24 to 28 (Yahoo's post-trade projection starts him at center; SI and Roundtable have him starting at PF or as first big off the bench — every reading gives him more than the 22.1 he played behind Bam Adebayo), Green 10 to 18 (four years/$45M, franchise single-season three-point record, 29.1 MPG), and Trent 8 to 14 (four years/$64M fully guaranteed, 21.2 MPG last season, and a contract the league is reviewing is one Milwaukee cannot easily move). Sources: ESPN 2025-26 team stats, Yahoo lineup projection, SI Bucks rotation piece, Spotrac/SalarySwish salary table.
Base fantasy projections
Per-game nine-category values use the encyclopedia's standard 12-team context. Rank bands express uncertainty; they are not precise consensus ranks. GP is a season-total availability forecast and MPG is per appearance. Conditional reserves' MPG applies only when active and is not part of the 240-minute healthy-game allocation.
| Player | GP / MPG | PTS | 3PM | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG% (FGA) | FT% (FTA) | TO | 9-cat band | Dynasty band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herro | 60 / 31 | 22.5 | 2.9 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 0.8 | 0.3 | .466 (18.2) | .890 (4.4) | 2.3 | 40-65 | 45-70 |
| Rollins | 70 / 32 | 18.6 | 2.5 | 4.8 | 6.0 | 1.5 | 0.4 | .470 (15.4) | .800 (2.8) | 2.8 | 55-85 | 90-135 |
| Ware | 74 / 28 | 14.5 | 1.4 | 11.0 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.4 | .535 (10.6) | .740 (1.9) | 1.2 | 40-70 | 40-65 |
| Jaquez | 72 / 28 | 15.0 | 0.8 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 0.8 | 0.3 | .500 (12.2) | .770 (3.5) | 2.1 | 85-130 | 140-210 |
| Turner | 65 / 25 | 12.4 | 2.0 | 5.6 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 1.6 | .450 (9.5) | .760 (2.5) | 1.1 | 70-105 | 110-155 |
| Kuzma | 62 / 18 | 9.6 | 0.8 | 3.6 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | .470 (8.4) | .730 (2.0) | 1.3 | 175-230 | 220+ |
| Green | 70 / 18 | 6.8 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.1 | .425 (5.4) | .860 (0.7) | 0.7 | 140-195 | 240+ |
| Burries | 70 / 16 | 9.0 | 1.1 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.3 | .447 (7.8) | .780 (1.9) | 1.3 | 155-225 | 85-125 |
| Trent | 62 / 14 | 5.6 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.1 | .405 (5.2) | .790 (0.7) | 0.6 | 200-260 | 250+ |
| Jakučionis | 68 / 12 | 5.6 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 | .430 (4.3) | .870 (1.1) | 0.9 | 190-250 | 170-240 |
| Porter | 50 / 10 | 5.7 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 | .455 (5.4) | .850 (1.7) | 1.2 | 140-230* | 200+ |
| Dieng | 66 / 8 | 3.6 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | .430 (3.5) | .710 (0.6) | 0.7 | 230+ | 220-300 |
| LeVert | 55 / 12† | 5.2 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | .425 (5.4) | .750 (1.0) | 1.0 | 250+ | 300+ |
| Ament | 50 / 10† | 4.8 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.4 | .415 (5.2) | .780 (1.5) | 0.8 | 250+ | 130-200 |
| Sims | 45 / 8† | 2.2 | 0.0 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | .680 (2.0) | .620 (1.1) | 0.4 | 250+ | 300+ |
| Marković | 35 / 6† | 2.4 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 | .470 (2.8) | .730 (0.7) | 0.4 | 300+ | 180-260 |
| Nance | 20 / 6† | 2.8 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | .480 (2.6) | .650 (0.3) | 0.3 | 300+ | 300+ |
| C. Ryan | 15 / 7† | 4.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 | .440 (4.2) | .850 (0.7) | 0.5 | 300+ | 300+ |
| K. Jones | 8 / 6† | 2.5 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 | .430 (3.0) | .800 (0.5) | 0.4 | 300+ | 300+ |
| R. Castro | 12 / 7† | 3.0 | 0.0 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | .600 (2.5) | .660 (0.9) | 0.6 | 300+ | 300+ |
* Porter's range is unusually role-dependent; a healthy post-trade 25-minute role could beat it.
† Conditional active-game minutes, outside the 240-minute healthy-game allocation.
Correction 2026-07-18: every row above was restated to match the rebuilt minute model. The direction is uniformly upward for the rotation core and downward for the deep roster. Ware moves from a 65-100 to a 40-70 nine-category band and from 55-80 to 40-65 in dynasty — the previous file named him a best-redraft and best-dynasty bet while pricing him at backup minutes, which was the page's largest internal contradiction. Green moves from 170-230 to 140-195 on the strength of a franchise-record 232 threes at .419 and a four-year, $45M contract. Trent moves from 230+ to 200-260. LeVert, Ament, Sims and Marković move to conditional rows.
Scenario tree
| Scenario | Probability | What changes | Biggest fantasy movers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youth-forward rebuild | 45% | One or more veterans moved by February; young players gain March minutes | Burries, Ware, Jakučionis, Dieng, Ament up |
| Competitive bridge | 30% | Herro/Turner/Kuzma remain and Bucks chase play-in | Herro, Rollins, Turner steadier; rookies capped |
| Early veteran consolidation | 15% | Preseason trade clears two roster spots and a rotation lane | Depends on outgoing players; Green/Trent/LeVert swing sharply |
| Health failure / hard tank | 10% | Herro or Porter unavailable and losses accelerate | Jaquez and Rollins usage up; youth minutes surge after All-Star break |
Player dossiers
- Core: Tyler Herro · Ryan Rollins · Kel'el Ware · Myles Turner · Jaime Jaquez Jr
- Development: Brayden Burries · Kasparas Jakučionis · Nate Ament · Ousmane Dieng · Bogoljub Marković
- Draft-rights watch: Malique Lewis
- Veterans and specialists: Kyle Kuzma · Kevin Porter Jr · AJ Green · Gary Trent Jr · Caris LeVert · Jericho Sims · Pete Nance
- Two-way: Cormac Ryan · Kam Jones · Rafael Castro
Evidence and source disagreements
- Public depth charts are provisional. RealGM's July 18 ordering is useful for roster status, but it cannot resolve the mandatory two-player standard-roster reduction.
- Herro's outside rank varies materially. FantasyPros expert rows viewed July 18 ranged roughly from the mid-teens to the mid-50s; this projection is lower than the most aggressive ranks because his 2025-26 season ended at 33 games and Milwaukee has little incentive to overextend him.
- Hashtag Basketball's July 18 crowd dynasty page placed Herro around No. 60, Ware No. 69, Burries No. 106, Turner No. 134, and Ament No. 170. Deeper Milwaukee entries appeared unstable, so they are treated as market signals rather than forecasts.
- The NBA's July 15 transition analysis explicitly frames Herro as the main scorer and expects starter-level minutes for Ware and Jaquez. That supports opportunity but does not announce a lineup.
- Update 2026-07-19: Brayden Burries closed Las Vegas at 23.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game on .500/.364/.667 with three total turnovers across four games, including a 27-point game with the game-winning layup against Philadelphia on July 18; Nate Ament started slowly but scored in double figures in his last two games. Development evidence for the rookie tier, not a rotation announcement. HoopsRumors Bucks Notes, 2026-07-19
Dated sources
- NBA 2026 offseason trade tracker — accessed 2026-07-18; Giannis package and July transactions.
- NBA: Bucks begin a new era — updated 2026-07-15; projected roles and coaching context.
- NBA/AP: Jon Horst after the Giannis trade — published 2026-07-08; organizational direction.
- RealGM current Milwaukee roster — accessed 2026-07-18; contracts, roster count, and provisional depth.
- NBA: Bucks draft Burries and Ament — published 2026-06-26; rookie profiles and college production.
- NBA: Milwaukee acquires Caris LeVert — published 2026-07-08.
- NBA: Taylor Jenkins named head coach — published 2026-04-30.
- Brew Hoop: could the Bucks improve their record? — published 2026-07-16; 2025-26 splits and outcome case.
- Brew Hoop: post-Giannis roster and draft future — published 2026-06-25; rebuild incentives and pick context.
- Reuters: NBA investigates Gary Trent Jr. contract — published 2026-07-16; transaction uncertainty.
- FantasyPros Tyler Herro rankings — accessed 2026-07-18; outside rank dispersion.
- Hashtag Basketball dynasty rankings — updated/accessed 2026-07-18; crowd market signal.
- Hoops Rumors: Bucks to sign Rafael Castro to a two-way — published 2026-06-24; third two-way and college baseline.
- Hoops Rumors 2026-27 two-way contract tracker — accessed 2026-07-18; all three Milwaukee slots filled.
- NBA: Ousmane Dieng re-signs on a three-year deal — published 2026-06-30; $17.5M terms.
- ESPN: NBA investigating the Trent contract — accessed 2026-07-18; $64M terms and 2025-26 baseline.
- ESPN: Bucks waive Cam Thomas to convert Pete Nance — published 2026-03-23; roster ledger.
- SalarySwish Milwaukee salary table — accessed 2026-07-18; 17 standard contracts, three two-ways, year-one salaries.
- Yahoo: projecting the 2026-27 Bucks starting lineup — accessed 2026-07-18; Ware at center.
- SI Bucks: new-look rotation after the Giannis trade — accessed 2026-07-18; competing lineup read with Turner at center.
- UNI Athletics: AJ Green sets Bucks three-point records — published 2026-04-13; 232 makes, breaking Ray Allen's 229.
- Reddit Milwaukee rotation discussion — published 2026-07-15; community view of the roster logjam, used only as qualitative sentiment.
Learning notes
The important edge is not guessing all 15 opening-night roster spots in July. It is pricing the workload elasticity created by a rebuilding team with two excess contracts. Herro, Rollins, Ware, and Turner have enough independent category production to draft now; nearly everyone else should be valued as a scenario option.
Open questions
- Which two standard contracts disappear before opening night?
- Will Jenkins start Turner and Ware together or stagger them as nominal centers?
- Is Herro fully ready for camp after the toe/foot and rib problems that limited him to 33 games?
- How much of Porter's pre-surgery burst and playmaking returns?
- Does Milwaukee keep its veterans through the trade deadline or prioritize developmental minutes immediately?