{"id":125988,"date":"2025-03-01T10:49:13","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T15:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=125988"},"modified":"2025-03-01T10:50:37","modified_gmt":"2025-03-01T15:50:37","slug":"bucks-andre-jackson-jr-could-available-offseason-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/01\/bucks-andre-jackson-jr-could-available-offseason-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"Key Bucks Defender Could Be Available For Offseason Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This season, the Milwaukee Bucks are 25-18 when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jacksan01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andre Jackson Jr.<\/a> starts. Conversely, they\u2019re 5-6 when doesn\u2019t. Yet, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers has demoted the UConn alum, opting <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/02\/28\/what-rivers-comments-reveal-about-andre-jackson-jr\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">to bring him off the bench<\/a> largely due to concerns about how he fits alongside <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jacksan01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis numbers were not great, especially with Giannis on the floor,\u201d Rivers says (h\/t The Athletic\u2019s Eric Nehm). \u201cThose two together.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Before tonight&#8217;s game, I asked Doc Rivers how Andre Jackson Jr. went from the starting lineup before the All-Star break to essentially out of the rotation after the All-Star break.<\/p>\n<p>Rivers: <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uUKedhKrJ5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/uUKedhKrJ5<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/eric_nehm\/status\/1894541964529250701?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 26, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Given Jackson\u2019s limitations as a scorer, there\u2019s some truth to Rivers\u2019s assessment. The former second-round pick is averaging 3.7 points per game, taking just 1.3 3-point attempts per game. He\u2019s been turnover-prone on cuts, making him even less of a factor offensively.<\/p>\n<h2>Bucks\u2019 Andre Jackson Jr. In A House Of Mirrors<\/h2>\n<p>To be fair, Jackson is shooting 38.7 percent on catch-and-shoot 3s this season. In fact, he\u2019s a career 37.9 percent 3-point shooter. With that being said, if given the green light to take more of those attempts, perhaps he\u2019d be a more viable option.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the primary benefit of starting Jackson is that he has the best defense of any Bucks player whose name isn\u2019t Giannis.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">andre jackson jr\u2019s defense vs the cavs \ud83e\udd8c <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fMUsmxaLhs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/fMUsmxaLhs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 evil freak (@bucksinfour) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bucksinfour\/status\/1854635315169739251?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 7, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>He cuts off his opponent\u2019s air at the point of attack. He reads passes well when he\u2019s off-ball. At 6-foot-6, he even has a knack for making blocks in recovery or the open court.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Doc Rivers gave a shoutout to Andre Jackson Jr last night after the game in the locker room for his defense last night against The Miami Heat, here\u2019s why: <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/GHW4satwrJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/GHW4satwrJ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Follow HeavenlyBuckets (@Heavenlybuckets) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Heavenlybuckets\/status\/1861965492795097304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 28, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>This didn\u2019t just make them a better defensive team, it gave them another way to hide <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lillada01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Damian Lillard<\/a> at that end.<\/p>\n<p>Now, the Bucks have to rely on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kuzmaky01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kyle Kuzma<\/a>. Because he\u2019s a more skilled and determined scorer than Jackson, Rivers may believe he can take more pressure off of Antetokounmpo, as well as take advantage of their two star\u2019s gravity. Kuzma\u2019s also an underrated cutter.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, he\u2019s shooting 29.5 percent on catch-and-shoot 3s and 26.0 percent on pull-up 3s in 2024-25. Over the course of his career, he\u2019s shot 33.3 percent from long-distance. Teams aren\u2019t particularly worried about him hurting them beyond the arc. As a result, they\u2019re more likely to sag off of him, shrinking the space in the paint.<\/p>\n<p>That only hurts Antetokounmpo.<\/p>\n<p>To that point, per NBA.com\u2019s lineup data, Kuzma-Antetokounmpo lineups have an offensive rating of 111.5. Of note, the Los Angeles Clippers rank 20th in offensive rating (111.4) this season. That\u2019s better than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/lineups\/advanced?GroupQuantity=2&amp;TeamID=1610612749&amp;dir=D&amp;slug=advanced&amp;sort=NET_RATING\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">what they get<\/a> from Jackson-Antetokounmpo lineups (110.5) but only just.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Kuzma\u2019s defense has been better than expected.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Kyle Kuzma stepped up in a big way last night and his defense was probably his best work. \ud83d\udd12 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MxqHydsx97\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/MxqHydsx97<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/F0tvzrSes5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/F0tvzrSes5<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Follow HeavenlyBuckets (@Heavenlybuckets) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Heavenlybuckets\/status\/1895544764101247045?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 28, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s developed a reputation of having lackadaisical tendencies but playing for a title-contender has seemingly motivated him.<\/p>\n<h3>Available For Offseason Trade?<\/h3>\n<p>After this season, Jackson will have two years left on his deal, with a team option in 2026-27. However, Kuzma will be under contract through 2026-27 as well, with no options.<\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/trentga02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gary Trent Jr.<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/princta02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Taurean Prince<\/a> will be free agents in the summer, Jackson\u2019s importance to the team could increase. Nonetheless, because of Rivers\u2019s statements about his fit alongside Antetokounmpo, it\u2019s possible that they\u2019ll look to trade him in the offseason. At the very least, he should be available.<\/p>\n<p>If so, there are a multitude of teams that should be interested in his services.<\/p>\n<p>The Miami Heat have long been known for prioritizing players with high-level defense, even if there are offensive concerns. Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka is passionate about playing elite defense. The Philadelphia 76ers would get a player whose <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/02\/26\/philadelphia-76ers-need-culture-reset\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">effort is never in question<\/a>. The Dallas Mavericks might have to replace <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/e\/exumda01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dante Exum<\/a> in the offseason.<\/p>\n<p>To make it worth the Bucks\u2019 while, all they might need is an offer that features a rotation-level point guard or 3-point threat.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Benny Sieu-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This season, the Milwaukee Bucks are 25-18 when Andre Jackson Jr. starts. Conversely, they\u2019re 5-6 when doesn\u2019t. Yet, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers has demoted the UConn alum, opting to bring him off the bench largely due to concerns about how he fits alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo: \u201cHis numbers were not great, especially with Giannis on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":126413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,1608,30,31,16,62,3,13],"tags":[49790,306,1128,1382],"class_list":["post-125988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bucks","category-basketball","category-mavericks","category-rockets","category-heat","category-nba","category-news","category-76ers","tag-andre-jackson-jr","tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","tag-kyle-kuzma","tag-nba-trade"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125988"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":126416,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125988\/revisions\/126416"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}