Bucks Pick Up Kel'el Ware's Fourth-Year Option
Milwaukee exercised the option on the former Heat big man's rookie-scale deal, which pays him $7.14 million for 2027-2028.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Basketball
The Milwaukee Bucks exercised the fourth-year option on Kel'el Ware's rookie-scale contract, keeping the center under team control for the 2027-2028 season. The Bucks also picked up Kasparas Jakucionis' $4.02 million option for next season.
Why it matters
Ware and Jakucionis arrived in Milwaukee through a trade that sent Giannis Antetokounmpo to Miami, so the option decisions signal how the Bucks plan to build around the players they received. Keeping both on the roster preserves cost certainty as the team reshapes its core.
Ware shot 54.0% from the field and averaged 1.1 blocks per game across 141 games with Miami, where he started 70 times. His $7.14 million salary for 2027-2028 is the figure the Bucks committed to by exercising the option.
The players
Kel'el Ware
Ware is a center who was drafted as a rookie and played two seasons with the Miami Heat before joining the Bucks in the Antetokounmpo trade.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Antetokounmpo is a two-time NBA MVP and longtime face of the Bucks franchise whose departure to Miami reshaped the team.
The details
The Heat traded Ware, Tyler Herro, Jakucionis, Jaime Jaquez and draft compensation to Milwaukee in a package that brought Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to Miami. Miami had pursued Antetokounmpo for months during the 2025-2026 season before the deal was completed in the 2026 offseason.
Timeline
2025-2026 season: Miami pursued Antetokounmpo, and the trade deadline passed without a deal.
2026 offseason: Heat and Bucks revisited talks and completed the trade.
November 2, 2026: Bucks exercised Ware's fourth-year option.
2027-2028 NBA season: Ware is set to earn $7.14 million.
2028: Ware and Jakucionis become free agents, barring any moves.
Roadmap
The option exercises follow directly from the Heat-Bucks trade that ended Miami's months-long pursuit of Antetokounmpo. They show Milwaukee keeping the young players it received as it resets around a new core.
Ware's $7.14 million salary for 2027-2028 keeps him in the Bucks' rotation picture for the next season. Fantasy managers tracking Milwaukee's frontcourt will want to watch how his 13.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game hold up in a bigger role.
The takeaway
Contract option decisions like these show how a trade's value gets measured over time, not just on the day it is announced. For Milwaukee, the next major question is whether Ware's production grows enough to justify the commitment beyond 2028.
What happens next
Ware and Jakucionis are scheduled to become free agents in 2028, barring any moves before then.
Further reading
For more on the team's roster moves, see Basketball coverage across the league.
