Bucks Secure Ware and Jakucionis Through 2027-28, Two Pieces of the Giannis Trade

The Bucks have made a small, inexpensive bet on two players who arrived in the largest trade of their summer. Milwaukee exercised its 2027-28 rookie-scale team options on Kel'el Ware (7'0''-C-2004, college: Indiana) and Kasparas Jakucionis (6'6''-G-2006, college: Illinois) on Monday, the deadline day, after Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported the move, citing league sources. The transactions log at RealGM later showed both options as officially picked up. The two came from Miami in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade.
The cost is modest. Ware, the 15th pick in the 2024 draft, is guaranteed $7.1 million for 2027-28 on his fourth-year option, and he becomes eligible for a rookie-scale extension next offseason. Jakucionis, the 20th pick in the 2025 draft, will make $4 million on his third-year option, and the Bucks have until November 1, 2027, to decide on his fourth-year option.
Both have grown into larger roles in Milwaukee. Ware, a 22-year-old 7-foot center, averaged 11.1 points and 9.0 rebounds in 22.1 minutes over 77 games last season and is at 13.0 points and 8.7 rebounds in 19.7 minutes through six games this season, all off the bench. Jakucionis, a 6-foot-5 guard from Lithuania, averaged 6.2 points and 2.6 assists as a rookie in 53 games and is now at 8.3 points, 4.0 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 22.5 minutes, though he is shooting 23.5 percent from three.
Coach Taylor Jenkins gave a specific reason for the decisions. He said of Jakucionis that “his ability to get into the paint is something that is very exciting for us,” and of Ware, he said, “When he's active at that five [spot] and he's an anchor and we're in our drop coverages, I want even more out of that.” The second remark is the more revealing: it is less a compliment than a request for more.
For a team in the first season of a new direction, the options are cheap. They keep a young center with a rebounding record and a young guard with the passing instincts the roster needs in place for another year, and they leave the larger decisions about Ware's extension and Jakucionis's fourth year for later.