Bucks Lock In Secret Weapon With Surprise Late-Round Signing
By 813 Staff
The Milwaukee Bucks are quietly deepening their roster with a low-risk, high-upside move, agreeing to terms with 2025 second-round pick Kam Jones, league sources confirmed Saturday afternoon.
Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) broke the news July 4 that the Bucks have reached a deal with Jones, a 6-foot-5 guard who slid to the second round of last year’s draft out of Memphis. The front office has been quietly working this deal behind the scenes since the end of the regular season, and those close to the situation say the contract is expected to be a multi-year minimum deal with partial guarantees, standard for a second-rounder who spent his rookie season developing. Jones went undrafted in 2025 before the Bucks scooped him up with the 50th overall pick, but he spent most of last season on a two-way contract, appearing sparingly in just 12 games while logging heavy minutes in the G League with the Wisconsin Herd.
What makes this signing matter beyond the standard second-round paperwork is the context. Milwaukee has been navigating a tight cap situation for years, and locking in a young wing who can handle the ball and shoot from deep—Jones shot 38 percent from three in college and flashed similar range in the G League—gives them a cheap developmental asset behind Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton. Those close to the situation say Bucks brass sees Jones as a potential rotation piece by the second half of next season, especially if veteran minutes need managing. The front office has been burned before by relying too heavily on aging role players, and this move signals a deliberate shift toward stocking younger legs.
For Jones, it’s a chance to prove he belongs. At 23, he’s still raw but has the frame and motor that translate in a Doc Rivers system that values defensive versatility. The expectation is Jones will report to training camp in September with a real chance to compete for the 10th or 11th roster spot, assuming the Bucks don’t make a trade before then. One league source described the deal as “a low-friction bet on growth,” noting the Bucks have been quietly scouting second-round talent more aggressively since last year’s draft board collapse.
What happens next is fluid. The Bucks still have the taxpayer mid-level exception available and could use it on a veteran wing, which would squeeze Jones’s path to minutes. But for now, Milwaukee adds a cheap, projectable piece—and the front office is betting the timeline on Jones’s development aligns with their championship window.
Source: https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/2073422663188447622
