{"id":735875,"date":"2026-05-16T12:12:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T12:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/735875\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T12:12:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T12:12:15","slug":"taylor-jenkins-is-already-planting-seeds-with-bucks-draft-prospects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/735875\/","title":{"rendered":"Taylor Jenkins is already planting seeds with Bucks draft prospects"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5k\">Taylor Jenkins made a name for himself in Memphis by turning a young core into playoff contenders. After Doc Rivers&#8217; disastrous tenure, the Milwaukee Bucks hired Jenkins to change the culture and lead their own youth movement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5n\">He got a head start at the NBA draft combine, wasting no time establishing a strong connection with potential Bucks prospects. The way Keaton Wagler and Mikel Brown Jr. discussed their interactions with Jenkins, it&#8217;s clear he made an immediate impression.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bucks prospects liked what they heard from Jenkins<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5t\">As a freshman at Illinois, Wagler showcased a broad range of playmaking skills that have turned him into a projected top six pick. Where the Bucks sit at No. 10, Wagler is <a href=\"https:\/\/behindthebuckpass.com\/bucks-tantalizing-draft-dreams-bleak-reality-check\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">unlikely to be in range<\/a>, but you never know. Things can change.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5w\">While his talent is obvious, he is also somewhat raw and could use some work defensively. Jenkins hit on those points in his discussion with the 6-foot-6 point guard, as described in an article by The Athletic&#8217;s Eric Nehm. Wagler <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7280392\/2026\/05\/15\/bucks-combine-accountability-taylor-jenkins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">came away impressed with the &#8220;growth&#8221; mindset<\/a> in Jenkins&#8217; message (subscription required).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5z\">In a way, Brown, also a freshman, might remind Jenkins of Morant. His upside is through the roof, but his shot selection was all over the place at Louisville last season. Like Wagler, Brown really seemed to appreciate the improvement-focused tone of the conversation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"62\">Nehm notes that Jenkins also emphasized the importance of &#8220;accountability.&#8221; If he is going to succeed in Milwaukee, that&#8217;s one thing he&#8217;ll have to distill in all his young players. Perhaps Wagler or Brown will be among them.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Jenkins suddenly makes Milwaukee an appealing destination<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"68\">Mock drafts tend to have Brown going seventh or eighth, to Sacramento or Atlanta. While the Bucks shouldn&#8217;t count on landing either guard, it&#8217;s still possible that one slips unexpectedly, more likely Brown than Wagler. Milwaukee would love to snag either one of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6b\">For his part, Jenkins would no doubt love to <a href=\"https:\/\/behindthebuckpass.com\/bucks-draft-night-decision-fascinating-taylor-jenkins-hiring\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">cultivate another top 10 draft pick in the backcourt <\/a>after his stint with Morant, a former No. 2 overall selection, in Memphis.\u00a0On the current Bucks roster, he already has Ryan Rollins to work with. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6e\">Jenkins&#8217; presence in Milwaukee is a draw of its own for prospects familiar with his reputation as a developmental guru. That&#8217;s particularly true for a raw talent like Brown. With the right guidance and more consistency, he <a href=\"https:\/\/behindthebuckpass.com\/bucks-grant-polarizing-draft-gem-instant-success\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">could ascend to NBA stardom<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6h\">At the combine, of course, the Bucks couldn&#8217;t recruit specific players. During the draft, prospects won&#8217;t choose their teams as if it were unrestricted free agency. Those conversations with Wagler and Brown were just that &#8211; only conversations &#8211; but don&#8217;t discount their significance as it reflects on Jenkins and his natural ability to communicate with young players.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6k\">While the Bucks&#8217; new coach hasn&#8217;t had a chance to really get started yet, he&#8217;s already planting seeds. Whichever draft prospect lands in Milwaukee, he&#8217;ll be in good hands under Jenkins&#8217; tutelage.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow behindthebuckpass.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=behindthebuckpass.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\">Follow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Taylor Jenkins made a name for himself in Memphis by turning a young core into playoff contenders. After&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":735876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3775],"tags":[7,103,102,121,3871,6],"class_list":["post-735875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-milwaukee-bucks","tag-basketball","tag-bucks","tag-milwaukee","tag-milwaukee-bucks","tag-milwaukeebucks","tag-nba"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116584195263492418","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=735875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/735876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=735875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=735875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=735875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}