What does a Jaime Jaquez Jr. extension look like with Milwaukee Bucks?
· Yahoo Sports
The Milwaukee Bucks are in a transition period with their roster as they begin the 2026-27 season, but while there is room for patience in many areas, the team does have one decision to make by 5 p.m. CT on Oct. 19: Will they extend the contract of forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.?
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If Jaquez and the Bucks do not come to terms on a rookie-scale extension, he will become a restricted free agent in the offseason. The team could negotiate a deal then, match an offer submitted by another team, or Jaquez could play on the one-year qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent.
“Any of the guys who are extension eligible, we’re not opposed to having those conversations,” Bucks GM Jon Horst told the Journal Sentinel. “We targeted these guys for a reason. We value them significantly. And we’ll, in good faith and sincerely, engage in those conversations.
“But we may or may not do an extension, and that’s OK. Just because we don’t doesn’t mean we don’t value them. Those are opportunities for them and for us.”
Jaquez said before the start of training camp that he was beginning the month of October with a professional mindset and that, “I’m here to work right now. My contract is the one that is going into next year, and that’s the only one I can really worry about.”
He then acknowledged the reality of the situation, too,
“With that being said, I’m here, hopefully for the entirety of the year,” he continued, “just trying to do what I can, continue to be professional, continue to give my all to this team, the coaches and the organization. Whatever happens will happen but as of right now all I can focus on is today.”
How many years can Jaquez sign for?
The 25-year-old can sign a deal for up to five years, beginning in the 2027-28 season.
Fellow first-round picks Amen and Ausar Thompson and Keyonte George already signed rookie-scale extensions and each were for five years with no options. Only No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama received a player option for the fifth year on the deal.
Should the Bucks and Jaquez agree to a deal, not including an option would be beneficial for the organization for several reasons. If they believe Jaquez is a core member of the team going forward, there will be no looming extension conversations early in the team’s build back to contender status.
The cost certainty could make Jaquez more appealing to other teams looking to trade for him.
How much money can Jaquez make on an extension?
Jaquez has developed into a solid player, but he is not on the level of Victor Wembanyama, the class of 2023's No. 1 pick who signed a $252 million maximum extension. Amen Thompson ($208), Keyonte George ($157.5) and Ausar Thomson ($155) also signed deals that would far exceed Jaquez.
In terms of the dollar figure Jaquez could sign for, an important number to remember is $17.8 million, which is Jaquez’s cap hold on the team’s books next summer. What that means is if the Bucks and Jaquez do agree on an extension, the team would like to keep his starting salary around that number to preserve their cap space. Any salary too much higher than that would eat into that flexibility.
“I think whenever you look at it you always want to make sure it could be a tradeable contract,” ESPN front office expert Bobby Marks said. “That’s probably the most important thing. The non-tax midlevel next year is like $16 million, so when you look at him and say he is a $17-18 million player, it’s really only a million dollars more than what the majority of the league could potentially sign him for. I know he’s restricted free agent, but that’s the biggest thing. Miami did that with [Nikola] Jović and he was a hard number to trade. But Jaime had a good year.”
In that vein, extensions in the 4-year, $60-72 million range or 5-year, $75-90 million range would not be unreasonable projections.
“It would also make him more difficult to trade, but not impossible to trade, during the season,” Marks said. “So you have to kind of balance those things out. If you think Jaquez has more value going into restricted free agency rather than on an extension, then you might want to hold off on that. It just kind of depends on how you view him and how you want to move forward with him versus another player.
“If he’s making around the mid-level exception for the next four years, he might have a lot of value. That’s more an evaluation of the player and how well he’ll hold his value going forward and how he’ll fit in your system and all that stuff.”
What happens if Jaquez is not extended?
He will play out this season on the final year of his rookie deal, and become a restricted free agent [RFA]. In the past, the RFA market was not traditionally a tool used by teams because it sometimes led to hard feelings during negotiations [see Jalen Duren's situation in Detroit]. Rarely did opposing teams try and pry away a RFA, either, with a massive contract offer. Times are changing, however, and the possibility of a new deal, or even a sign-and-trade exists if the team and Jaquez head to the offseason without an extension in place.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What does a Jaime Jaquez Jr. extension look like with Milwaukee Bucks?