Jaime Jaquez Jr. has settled into Milwaukee, and he has a line he keeps coming back to about how he got there. Speaking at Bucks media day on Monday, the forward explained how he processed being moved for the first time in his career.

“I was told that you're not really in the NBA until you get traded,” Jaquez said in a press conference. “So this is, I guess, my ‘Welcome to the NBA,' ‘Welcome to Milwaukee.'”

Jaime Jaquez Jr. on being traded to the Milwaukee Bucks: "You know, I was told that you're not really in the NBA until you get traded. So this is, I guess, my 'Welcome to the NBA', 'Welcome to Milwaukee'. You know, I've been doing my best to get acclimated within the community.… pic.twitter.com/4do3Yp066H

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) September 29, 2026

He has spent the months since trying to belong there. “I've been doing my best to get acclimated within the community,” Jaquez said. “Go around town, go to different restaurants, meet different people. Every time I take my dog on a walk, I get people walking out and saying, ‘Go Bucks! Go Bucks!' So I feel a lot of love here, and I really appreciate the city embracing myself, Tyler, Kel'el and Kas. We're all really happy to be here and just doing what we can to make our mark here.”

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That tone marks a shift. Back in July, Jaquez told the Miami Herald that the trade was “devastating,” while adding that he saw real opportunity in Milwaukee. He arrived alongside Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware and Kasparas Jakucionis in the blockbuster that sent Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to Miami, a package that also included the rights to Nate Ament and multiple future picks.

General manager Jon Horst made clear the four were not throw-ins. “Each and every one of those guys was targeted. We wouldn't have done the trade without one of those players,” Horst said at media day.

The opportunity Jaquez mentioned is real. He started just 38 of his 216 regular season games across three years in Miami, yet still averaged a career-high 15.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists last season while finishing second in Sixth Man of the Year voting. Milwaukee's forward spots remain unsettled, giving him a clear path to a starting role.

There is also a deadline looming. The Bucks face an October 19 date on a potential rookie-scale extension for Jaquez, making this season consequential for both sides.