Ryan Rollins tops the list, with Kel'el Ware, Brayden Burries, the Miami picks and Nate Ament behind him.
A second round pick out of Toledo is the most important player left on the Milwaukee Bucks roster, and that says plenty about where this rebuild starts.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis went to Miami this summer for Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, two more players, the 13th pick and a bundle of future picks, and the front office then took Brayden Burries at No. 10 and Nate Ament at No. 13.
Milwaukee went 32-50 last season and its nine year playoff streak ended, so Jon Horst is stacking pieces for a team that might be good in three or four years, and those pieces are not all worth the same.
The Top Spot Belongs to Ryan Rollins
Rollins is 24 and played 74 games last season, averaging 17.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists while shooting 40.6 percent from three.
Those are starting point guard numbers on a team that fell apart around him.
He is also owed just $4 million in each of the next two seasons, which is a bargain for a starter.
The case that he needs to become an All-Star is a fair one, but even if he falls short, a cheap starter who is still improving is what every rebuilding team wants and few have.
Ware, Not Herro, Was the Real Prize
Herro is the biggest name from the trade, but his $33 million contract expires after this season and he could reach free agency, so he is a trade chip more than a foundation.
Ware is 22, was the 15th pick in 2024, and last season he played 77 games with 34 starts, averaging 11.1 points and 9.0 rebounds while shooting 53.0 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from three.
A 7-footer who blocks shots and hits threes at that rate is hard to find, and he makes under $5 million this season.
Myles Turner is signed through next season and has done real work this summer as a leader for a young locker room, but he turned 30 in March and Ware is the center this rebuild will be built around.
Burries, the Heat Picks and Ament Come Next
Burries is third and could pass Ware quickly.
The No. 10 pick averaged 16.1 points and 4.9 rebounds at Arizona and shot 39.1 percent from three, then scored 23.5 points a game in four summer league games.
Horst called him one of the best two-way guards in the draft, and that is exactly what a team with no star needs.
Fourth is the Miami draft capital, unprotected first round picks in 2031 and 2033 plus a 2030 swap and a 2033 second rounder, worth more than anyone further down this list.
Ament is fifth because he is 19 and averaged 16.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in a Tennessee season that ESPN described as inconsistent, even though Horst said on draft night the team was always going to take him if it had the chance.
Horst summed up the plan that night.
"We're building. These guys are important to it."
The roster looks full, with a training camp deal handed to another 7-footer this week, so some names near the bottom will be gone before opening night.
The five pieces at the top should not be, and Rollins least of all.
