The Milwaukee Bucks could become the next nightmare of the NBA

 Milwaukee Bucks have been one of the best teams in the NBA for the past 5 seasons. They have made the conference finals twice and have won the NBA title in 2021. But things started looking bad for the Bucks since that NBA championships. The Bucks have not made it out of the 2nd-round and their franchise star, Giannis Antetokounmpo, has constantly pressured the front office to make a move for a superstar. And after a disastrous 2023 playoff exit, the Bucks were under even more pressure to make a move during the offseason. That is when the Bucks decided to trade for Damian Lillard so that they could potentially win a wide-open east and potentially win the championship this year. But things have taken a turn again even after trading for Damian Lillard. The Bucks were the Giannis a lot. If things are not good for the Bucks this year, Giannis might demand a trade out of Milwaukee. If Giannis leaves the Bucks, this will force Lillard to also demand a trade out of Milwaukee which could leave them in shambles. Why are the Bucks this bad?  How can the Bucks recover if they lose this year in the playoffs? What will be the future of the Bucks? We have all of it explained in this blog but if you are interested in more NBA and NFL content and want to support me, I would really appreciate it if you guys support me by following me on blogger and on X(@GYNBlogs0718), and share this article with your friends.

The Milwaukee Bucks' worst nightmare

The Bucks weren't one of the best franchises after Kareem Abdul Jabbar left the team in 1975. The team made 4 Eastern Conference finals and did not make a single NBA finals appearance until Giannis got drafted by the Bucks. Since then, the Bucks have done everything could to contend with Giannis. They traded future assets and good young players to keep Giannis happy and play for the Bucks. But things have gone out of hand these last two seasons. After losing the conference semifinals to the Celtics in 2022, the Bucks did not make huge improvements to the roster but still managed to contend and prove themselves to be the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference in the 2022-23 season. But they lost to the Miami Heat who were an 8 seed in the East. So Milwaukee spent all their assets to trade for Damian Lillard to keep building around Giannis. 

But the fact is that in this era of the NBA, teams can't just pair up two superstars and become a contenders.  The Los Angeles Clippers tried to build a superteam with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook but they failed to even make it past the first round. The Lakers tried it with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook but they failed to even make the playoffs. In this era of the NBA, you need one superstar and an all-star-level player surrounded by elite depth for the team to be a championship contender. The Denver Nuggets surrounded Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray with elite depth in 2023. The Warriors surrounded Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green with elite depth which helped them win in 2022. The Bucks have not followed this philosophy. Their championship roster had Giannis, Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, and a healthy Khris Middleton surrounded with elite depth players like Donte Divencinzo, PJ Tucker, and Bobby Portis. But now, the Bucks have Giannis with an aging Damian Lillard who isn't necessarily playing bad for his age but the supermax contract he is under is severely restricting the Bucks from building a team around him and Giannis. Khris Middleton is not the player he once was, Brook Lopez is still a good rim protector, but they don't have the elite depth they once had. Their depth players now include Patrick Beverly and Bobby Portis which isn't good enough. The Bucks were top-10 in offensive rating but they were 19th in defensive rating. The fact the Bucks don't have a good defense and are not a very talented team shows that their championship window might be shut.

What can the Bucks do from here?

The Milwaukee Bucks have the potential to make it to the playoffs but if they need to make a deep postseason run, they will need to trade for elite role players that improve the team in crunch time. I think they should trade away Khris Middleton. He is no longer the player he once was and he still might have some value. My best fit for this team is Bruce Brown. He was key to the Nuggets' title run in 2023 and the Bucks could probably trade for Bruce Brown by sending Khris Middleton to the Raptors. I don't think the Raptors would make this deal unless they get future picks which isn't something the Bucks possess currently. Another good fit for the Bucks would be Devin Vassell. He is a two-way wing who could be a key contributor but it would be tough to convince the Spurs to trade for Khris Middleton. Since the Bucks are a second-apron team, they cannot stack salaries, or else Tre Jones, Julian Champagnie, and Jeremy Sochan would have been great fits for this team. If the team cannot build around Giannis, they should try to blow the team up. The Bucks are a second-apron team that not only puts limits on their roster transactions but also risks their future. The East is already getting competitive. You have the Boston Celtics as the defending NBA champions. The New York Knicks traded for Mikal Bridges, Brunson took a pay cut and resigned OG Anunoby. The Indiana Pacers are up there with their core of Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner. The Cavaliers resigned Donovan Mitchell, the Magic upgraded by signing Kentavious Caldwell Pope, and the 76ers have formed their own big 3 with Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey. It is really going to be tough for the Bucks to beat out any of these teams without proper bench depth or an improved roster. The Bucks could become sellers if they understand that their championship window is starting to close.

My take on the Bucks' future

I don't think the Bucks will start a rebuild unless Giannis demands a trade and makes things ugly in Milwaukee. The Bucks don't have draft control til 2031 which means that even if they tank, it wouldn't be beneficial for them. But I do not think the Bucks are going to be one of the top 2 teams in the East unless Doc Rivers makes something great with Dame and Giannis. They could become a version of the Brooklyn Nets big-3 with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden. They were one of the favorites to win it all just like the Bucks were. But because of injuries and poor management, that team did not win the championship. They could have won it in 2021 if not for Kyrie and Harden getting injured. So just three years later, the Nets blew the team up but could not tank properly because they had traded a boatload of picks to Houston as part of the James Harden deal. As a result, the Nets had to give the #3 overall pick in this year's draft to the Rockets. If the Bucks choose to blow this team up, they will have to give picks in the lottery to teams like Portland and New Orleans. So essentially, the Bucks are stuck in this situation until Giannis demands a trade. That is my take on the Bucks' future. But we also covered the future of Portland during Damian Lillard's initial trade request from the Trail Blazers. You can check that out in our blogs section.