The health of Kevin Porter Jr. and the age of Kasparas Jakucionis make this the right call next to Tyler Herro.
Ryan Rollins should be the starting point guard for the Milwaukee Bucks, and the case is not as close as the summer debate made it sound.
Taylor Jenkins has been the head coach since the end of April, and his first real lineup call is at the point, where Rollins, Kevin Porter Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis all have a claim.
Each has an argument, but only one of the three started a full season last year and shot well enough to live next to Tyler Herro.
Why Rollins Is the Answer
Rollins played 74 games last season and started 67 of them, averaging 17.3 points, 5.6 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 40.6 percent from three.
Those numbers came on a team that finished 32-50 and 11th in the East, and the shooting is the part that fits with Herro.
Herro averaged 20.5 points in 33 games for Miami before the July trade and is at his best with the ball in his hands, so the guard beside him has to space the floor and guard the tougher backcourt player, and Rollins already does both.
Jaime Jaquez Jr.'s name came up in preliminary trade talk with Denver, according to the Denver Post, while Rollins has been penciled in as a starter since July.
The Case Against Porter and Jakucionis
Porter has the better playmaking numbers.
He averaged 17.4 points, 7.4 assists and 2.2 steals in 38 games with 36 starts, but he shot 32.2 percent from three, and his season ended with arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in April.
The knee trouble began eight minutes into the first game of the season.
He picked up his $5.39 million player option in June, per Michael Scotto, but a 26-year-old coming off knee surgery with that shot is a sixth man here, not a starter.
Jakucionis is the more interesting name because the front office likes him.
He is 20 years old and averaged 6.2 points in 17.8 minutes across 53 games with 12 starts for Miami as a rookie, and he shot 42.3 percent from three in that role.
Jon Horst said in July, "He's a true point guard. He's a very good shooter at a young age."
That sounds like a general manager talking about the future, and it fits a rebuild where every starter from the 2021 title team is gone, but a 20-year-old should not open the season ahead of a 24-year-old who already handled 32 minutes a night.
What It Means for the Roster
Milwaukee has 17 players on standard contracts and can carry only 15 in the regular season, so at least two of them have to be traded or waived before the opener.
A starting five of Herro, Jaquez, Kyle Kuzma, Kel'el Ware and Myles Turner has already been floated, and Rollins belongs in that group with Jaquez sliding to the bench.
Camps open across the league on Sept. 29, and Jenkins should walk in with Rollins starting, Porter as the first guard off the bench once his knee is right, and Jakucionis getting real minutes behind them, because the next call at this spot should be his to win.
