MILWAUKEE — All Milwaukee Bucks head coach Taylor Jenkins could do was smile when Nate Ament revealed Jenkins’ unique behavior during a meeting with the team at May’s NBA Draft combine.“What I love most about Coach is, while I sat down for my interview, he had a lowlight tape of me of my five worst plays in college,” Ament said as the assembled crowd at the Pieper-Hillside Boys and Girls Club in Milwaukee started to laugh.“I think that’s super important,” Ament, the 13th pick in this year’s draft, continued. “As a player who has a lot of room to grow, it’s important to have a coach that sees that in you.A few moments later, when Brayden Burries picked up his microphone, the No. 10 pick in this year’s draft confirmed Jenkins’ approach.“He did the same thing with me in Chicago,” the 20-year-old Burries said. “He was the only coach that did it.”As the crowd laughed, Jenkins and general manager Jon Horst smiled again.“That just shows how much he cares for you and how much he wants to see you grow,” Burries said, comparing Jenkins to his college coach, Tommy Lloyd.These moments during Thursday’s introductory news conference for the two draft picks were a good reminder of the new path forward in Milwaukee, even if it was still a little awkward to be unable to reference the elephant in the room. The organization cannot yet talk about the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade with the Miami Heat because it won’t be consummated until July 6 — even though Ament, selected with a pick the Heat originally owned, would not have been on that stage if the two teams had not agreed to the trade.Giannis is headed to Miami. What will be his legacy in Milwaukee?Eric Nehm and Johnny SweetRegardless, the setup was what it will be like for the next year. There will be constant reminders of Antetokounmpo, but that cannot deter the Bucks from plunging headfirst into a new era, one in which Jenkins must be the leading force for a young roster looking for guidance.
Without Giannis, Bucks will lean on rookies and Taylor Jenkins to set a new culture
Without their former superstar to set the tone, the Bucks will rely on their new coach and their rookies to do it.















