In the blink of an eye, Jericho Sims has become an essential piece of the Milwaukee Bucks rotation, quickly becoming Doc Rivers’ go-to big man off the bench. After serving as a depth piece for most of the NBA season, Sims is now stunningly overtaking veterans like Myles Turner and Bobby Portis in the pecking order. None of this would be possible without the New York Knicks.

The Knicks sent Sims to Milwaukee in exchange for Delon Wright and cash before last year’s trade deadline as part of the Khris Middleton-Kyle Kuzma swap. Sims didn’t play too much for New York, and the opportunity to shed some salary was too desirable to pass up. Little did they know that the team would be trading a hidden gem to Milwaukee.

Bucks uncovering a hidden gem that Knicks disregarded

With Giannis Antetokounmpo banged up, Sims has been playing a more prominent role, and he has taken full advantage. Over his last 10 games, the big man is averaging 8.6 rebounds, 7.8 points, and 2.3 assists per contest while shooting an astounding 81.4 percent from the floor. He’s averaging the fourth-most minutes on the entire team in this span, which speaks to his impact.

Rather than rolling with veterans like Myles Turner, Bobby Portis, and Kyle Kuzma, Sims is earning the bulk of the frontcourt minutes. Some speculated that Sims eating minutes that would typically go to Turner was because of the starting center’s calf strain and that he might be on a minutes limit. Yet, Doc Rivers revealed that Turner isn’t on one. He’s just playing the rotations he likes.

That speaks to his trust in Sims and the impact that the Milwaukee Bucks big man is having.

Sure, Sims isn’t a game-changer, but it’s still baffling that they landed this type of player for Delon Wright and some cash. During his short time in Milwaukee, Wright was respectfully a dud, failing to live up to expectations as a two-way ace before falling out of the rotation entirely in favor of rising guard Ryan Rollins.

Sims has been great, but the wild thing is that he’s not even Milwaukee’s biggest steal of the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline. That title belongs to Kevin Porter Jr., who was traded from the LA Clippers for MarJon Beauchamp. Porter has been playing at an All-Star level lately, giving the Bucks a massive spark as the team awaits Giannis Antetokounmpo’s return.

Between he and Sims, the Bucks got a pair of gems at that deadline.

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