The Milwaukee Bucks are not acting like a team that just shipped out a superstar and decided to spend the next few years staring at the lottery.
Even after trading Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee is still chasing ways to stay in the mix next season, and Denver forward Peyton Watson is one of the names on the radar, according to insider Marc Stein (subscription required). Whether Watson ends up in Milwaukee or not, the message from the Bucks is the same: they want to compete, and they want to do it right away.
That urgency makes sense when you look at the draft situation. The Bucks do not control their 2027 first-round pick, which went to New Orleans in the Jrue Holiday trade.
So if next season goes sideways, there is no real silver lining in finishing low. They would not even get the benefit of their own bad record.
With that in mind, pushing for the postseason is the obvious path.
Their roster construction backs that up. Milwaukee does have younger, less polished pieces such as Kasparas Jakucionis and Nate Ament, but it also has veterans built for the present in Tyler Herro, Myles Turner, Kyle Kuzma, and Caris LeVert.
If the Bucks were truly tearing things down, Herro and Turner would likely already be gone in moves aimed at stacking more assets. Instead, they are still there.
What Milwaukee appears to be building is a group centered on players in the 20-to-26 age range, a roster designed to grow while still trying to win now. Watson, who is 23, fits that mold cleanly. He would slide into that age window and give the Bucks another piece who can develop alongside the rest of the group while helping them chase wins.
And there is at least a path to something more than just optimism. The Eastern Conference looks weakened enough that Milwaukee could surprise people and fight its way into the playoff picture. No one is going to project the Bucks to finish first, second, or maybe even third, but there is room for them to make noise if the summer breaks the right way.
Taylor Jenkins is in place as an overlooked coach who should get more out of the young talent, while Herro and Turner give the team established production. Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr. add two-way guard options, and Brayden Burries brings the buzz of a rising rookie phenom. With more assets still available to make a move, the Bucks have enough pieces to keep this thing interesting.
Adding Watson would only raise the ceiling. But even if they miss on him, Milwaukee’s stance is already clear: this is not a team preparing to disappear. It wants the postseason, and it wants to make some noise getting there.
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