Milwaukee Bucks: 5 Biggest Questions Following Jabari Parker Injury News

Feb 1, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker (12) dribbles the ball during the first half against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 1, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker (12) dribbles the ball during the first half against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 29, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker (12) reacts with center Greg Monroe (15) and forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) after scoring a basket in the first quarter against the Miami Heat at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports /

What’s The Long Term Impact On The Bucks’ Future?

It goes without saying that much of this is going to be left to be determined further down the road, but the one thing that can be said with certainty is that the Bucks will have to give some real thought to what they want the shape of their future to be.

What’s different in that regard now is they’ll be making the decisions without as many answers as they’d have originally anticipated having. Can they still assume that Parker will be a star, or do they now have to consider if Giannis is going to have enough help readily in place in the coming years?

While on one hand the topic of Jason Kidd‘s future could be glossed over by pointing out that he couldn’t be expected to achieve too much in a season where he will only have had Jabari Parker and Khris Middleton on the floor together for a total of six minutes, there’s also the case to be made that Milwaukee’s time to prepare for contention has been cut short and now they need to be sure they have the right coach and system in place by the time they move to their new arena in 2018-19.

In terms of free agency, both Tony Snell and Greg Monroe look increasingly likely to return, as Snell’s ability to provide wing cover would certainly hold value in Parker’s absence, and Monroe may even have a path back to the starting lineup in the next 12 months without the concern of how he and Jabari mesh defensively.

Overall, could this be the moment where years from now, decades from now, people pinpoint this team’s chances of contention evaporating? Possibly. But there’s no way of knowing for sure.

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In the interim, the Bucks just have to continue to act as if they’re on the road to a future title, but do so while being wary that their margin for error has shrunk considerably.