The last time the Milwaukee Bucks found themselves in a similar spot, they turned a rough year into a quick rebound.
Back in 2016, Milwaukee finished 33-49 after a 97-92 loss to the Indiana Pacers. Khris Middleton, then 24, led the team at 18.2 points per game, while a 21-year-old Giannis Antetokounmpo was already making his presence felt in his third NBA season with 16.9 points per game.
The season before that, the Bucks had gone 41-41 and grabbed the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. That run ended with a first-round loss to the Chicago Bulls in six games, but the expectation was that the team could keep building from there.
Instead, a poorly built roster slowed everything down. Milwaukee had to lean heavily on its young core just to get back on track. And in 2016-17, the response was strong enough to matter: the Bucks won nine more games than the year before, finished as the No. 6 seed again and returned to the playoffs.
They still lost in six games, this time to the Toronto Raptors, but the bigger point was that they had outperformed the early projections. ESPN had Milwaukee at No. 22 and the third-worst team in the East. Bleacher Report was even lower, slotting the Bucks at No. 26 in the NBA and the third-worst team in the conference.
Now Milwaukee is staring at a different version of that challenge. Last season ended at 32-50, just one win shy of that 2016 mark.
And unlike that earlier turnaround team, this group won’t have Antetokounmpo to carry the load. He is leaving for the Miami Heat, ending his run with the Bucks after 2013.
Antetokounmpo’s rise was the engine behind Milwaukee’s best years. Last season, he averaged 22.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.9 blocks per game. That production earned him NBA Most Improved Player honors, a spot on the All-NBA Second Team, NBA All-Defensive Second Team recognition and an All-Star selection.
Without him, the Bucks have to find another path. Tyler Herro is the biggest name in that new setup.
Over the last five seasons in Miami, he has averaged 21.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists while shooting 45.5% from the field and 38.4% from 3-point range. In Miami, he was usually not the top option behind Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
In Milwaukee, he may be asked to take on the role of the first option.
The Bucks also added Jaime Jaquez Jr., who finished as this year’s Sixth Man of the Year runner-up, along with Kel'el Ware, who nearly averaged a double-double last season while shooting 39.5% from 3-point range, and Kasparas Jakučionis, a young player who showed promise in his rookie season last year.
Milwaukee’s draft brought more youth into the picture, too. The Bucks took Brayden Burries with the No. 10 pick and Nate Ament at No.
- Burries has already drawn attention this summer with his play, and Ament gives the team another young piece who can help right away.
There were still signs of life in last year’s group, even in a season that went off the rails. Ryan Rollins, Ousmane Dieng and Kevin Porter Jr. all showed promise.
This roster may be young and may not stack up talent-for-talent with the top teams in the Eastern Conference, but it does have multiple pieces that could fit together. The East is deep and loaded this season, so a playoff push will not come easy. Still, Bucks fans have seen this franchise rebound before, and they are hoping history has one more turnaround left in it.
In Other News...
Bucks Just Lost A Key Trade Path For Kyle Kuzma
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Kyle Kuzma has been a name to watch as the Bucks consider ways to reshape the roster before the NBA Trade Deadline, but Minnesota no longer looks like the same clean match it once did. With the Timberwolves addressing their need at power forward, Milwaukee may have to keep searching for a partner if it decides to explore Kuzma trade options in the months ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Still Face A Roster Crunch That Could Force A Surprise Move
The Bucks spent the summer tied to plenty of roster chatter, but the group that ended last season is still largely intact as the regular season draws closer. Now the bigger issue is not adding another name, but trimming the roster from 17 players down to the league-mandated 15, a task that could force Milwaukee into a move it did not necessarily plan on making.
Pete Nance looks like the most obvious cut if the Bucks simply want to pare down the numbers, though Caris LeVert has also surfaced as a possible salary-dump candidate. Trading AJ Green may be the most workable route to create the needed opening after Gary Trent Jr. was re-signed, but with no definitive move yet, Milwaukee is still weighing how aggressive it wants to be in solving a problem that has become harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]