The Milwaukee Bucks’ splashiest offseason acquisitions were wing players, veterans Kyle Korver and Wes Matthews.

Shooting guard Pat Connaughton looked as though he might get lost in the shuffle. But the fifth-year pro did a little bit of everything in the preseason for the Bucks, who open the regular season at Houston on Thursday night.

“I’m a competitive guy,” Connaughton said. “The best part about that is that there’s been a balance of competing for minutes but also rooting for guys to succeed. Sometimes in the NBA that can get lost in translation because of how much of a job it is and how much of a business it can be.

“But I think this team’s done a great job of saying, hey, we have a deep roster this year … you can control only what you can control. Coach is going to do his best to make sure everyone gets the minutes he thinks they deserve and then you just have to be ready when your number’s called.”

Connaughton was all over the court after checking in midway through the first quarter Thursday as the Bucks' 118-96 preseason victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Two after-timeout plays set him up for a basket and two free throws. He hit a three-pointer after working the two-man game with Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Connaughton later found Korver in the corner with a nice cross-court pass. He also was fouled after rebounding his own miss on a fast break in the second half.

“Really pleased with the way he’s playing,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “He’s interesting. He’s a guy that rebounds, blocks shots, does so many things defensively that I hope the rest of the world appreciates. I know we do as a coaching staff.

"Offensively when he’s hitting shots, he’s a really huge addition. I think his comfort and handling the ball and attacking, making decisions, making reads … there’s just a confidence and a comfort level that I think we see from him offensively that’s a credit to the work he put into the summer with the assistants and on his own. And it’s kind of carrying out in the games so far."

The 26-year-old Connaughton tweaked his shot last season, his first in Milwaukee after three years with the Portland Trail Blazers.

"Last year, shooting coach Ben Sullivan worked with me a lot," Connaughton said. "We changed a few things. Nothing major. I think my jumper was pretty good before. But we just wanted to get something more simple. Something that is more easily repeatable.

"Balance. Where my feet were set up. Staying square. Keeping the ball in front. Some follow-through things. At the beginning of last year, he said to me ‘Hey, usually I wouldn’t start this until the offseason. It’s tough to do during the season.’ "

Connaughton suffered a shooting slump while getting used to the new mechanics, but it started clicking at the end of the regular season. He shot 28 for 66 (42.4%) on three-pointers in the last 16 games after going 38 for 134 (28.4%) before that. Connaughton became a key player in the Bucks' playoff rotation.

He tried to keep that positive momentum going with his offseason work, staying mostly in Milwaukee with trips home to the Boston area and Las Vegas, where he trained with Bucks teammates including Khris Middleton and Antetokounmpo.

"It was a big summer for me," Connaughton said. "Big summer for the team as well to continue where we left off and go even farther. I wanted to make sure I buckled down."

Budenholzer paired Connaughton and second-year player Donte DiVincenzo a lot during the preseason. The duo brings considerable energy off the bench.

"Two athletic, 6-5 guys," Connaughton said. "One’s got red hair. One’s got brown hair. But other than that we have some similarities.

"We enjoy playing with each other. We have things we do, yelling each others’ name from across the court (and then) we know that guy is going to cut."

That chemistry and athleticism gives Budenholzer some youthful options along with the veteran Matthews and Korver.

"We have such a good group of wings that it’s so competitive for opportunity and minutes," Budenholzer said. "Two great additions and two veterans who have been through a lot in Wesley and Kyle ... it’s like, gosh, how are we going to do this?

"It’s a big job for me. For the guys that are playing, we need them to continue to do what they do. Some of them have done it for a long time, some are relatively young and new to doing it. The better they play, the more opportunities they get, the harder they make it on me. So far they’ve been doing a lot of making it harder on me."