A recent survey from The Athletic gave insight into how agents across the league view the rising urgency surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks this offseason.
Speculation surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks has been through the roof this offseason, and it continues to ascend with each passing day.
In an anonymous survey done by The Athletic’s Ben Standig, Mike Vorkunov, and more ($$), a handful of agents gave their input on key storylines across the NBA landscape heading into the offseason and the Bucks featured heavily throughout the piece.
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One of the more compelling headlines to come out of the article was what the agents thought of Milwaukee’s chances to retain Giannis Antetokounmpo long-term.
Out of the 19 agents that voted, 18 of them believe that the two-time MVP will stay put with the Bucks as a 5-year supermax extension waits for his signature at the start of this year’s free agency period.
Giannis has stated on multiple occasions his desire to stay in Milwaukee for the long-haul, so these opinions should not come as much of a surprise. However, nothing is set in stone just yet. Despite having the best regular season record in consecutive seasons, the Bucks have no hardware to show for it and their playoff disappointment has only grown.
With their latest disappointing postseason trip in the rearview, it is well known that the team plans to go through some roster retooling this offseason to make their pitch towards Antetokounmpo this offseason. As a matter of fact, those same agents voted the Bucks among teams that desperately need to make a major move this offseason.
The Philadelphia 76ers came in first place with 6.5 votes, while the Milwaukee Bucks trailed close behind with 5.5 votes, followed by Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Minnesota, and Portland, each also getting a single vote each.
Given the current uncertainty surrounding Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee, the Bucks arguably have a case to be top-ranked on that list. A pair of voters saw eye to eye, saying that this is a team with championship aspirations for years to come and losing their 25-year-old superstar would derail all of that in an instant.
It is no secret that the Milwaukee Bucks need to make a splash on the trade market this offseason, but who might be the most likely targets remains a mystery.
To get Milwaukee past their postseason woes, it is a clear consensus that they will look to make some roster upgrades this offseason. One agent cited the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Chris Paul as a possible option, knowing that the 35-year-old could fix some of their most prominent issues at the point guard position.
Paul has been linked to the Bucks through speculation since the season came to a close, fueled only further by rumors that the future Hall of Famer and Giannis Antetokounmpo struck up a friendship during the NBA’s restart. However, Milwaukee has dialed down on any interest in the guard, with his $85 million owed over the next two seasons and his strong personality being apparent reasoning behind their lack of motivation to pursue such a deal.
Aside from The Athletic’s Shams Charania ($$) reporting last week that the Bucks looked to be a “strong suitor” for the Sacramento Kings’ Bogdan Bogdanovic, there is little known about who else the team may have on their radar. Charania cited that Milwaukee is in the hunt for playmaking and shooting, giving them a wide variety of options to look for in the trade market and in free agency.
While all of the other speculation surrounding the Bucks are merely opinions and rumors, this offseason is undoubtedly shaping up to be a busy one and all eyes will be on the Bucks to pull off the substantial move they clearly need.