Milwaukee Bucks: How will truncated offseason affect need for upgrades?
With the NBA reportedly planning to start next season in late December, the Milwaukee Bucks have to execute a consequential offseason in a compact manner.
Everyone knew the Milwaukee Bucks have to thread quite the needle this offseason. Yet no one really expected for them to have to do it in just a month.
That may be the case with the NBA reportedly pushing to start their 2020-21 season on December 22 as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Adrian Wojnarowski reported late last week.
More from Bucks News
- Bucks 2023-24 player profile: Can MarJon Beauchamp take a leap?
- Piecing together the Milwaukee Bucks’ dream starting 5 in 5 years
- Predicting Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s 2023-24 stats for the Bucks
- Grade the trade: Bucks land reputable backup guard in swap with Pacers
- New workout video should have Milwaukee Bucks fans excited
Certainly nothing is set in stone as of this writing and plenty of hurdles have to be ironed out in the coming days for this traction to becoming something more concrete.
But it wouldn’t be surprising to some to know that this new timeline for the next NBA season has shocked those working in front offices and organizations around the league.
One wouldn’t blame the Bucks for being one of those organizations taken aback by this about-face by the league, given their tasks at hand this fall.
After all, the Bucks are staring at the most consequential offseason in franchise history, all of which revolves around the long-term future of superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. With his supermax extension looming over however long this offseason will be, the Bucks wait with urgency to hear of the two-time MVP’s decision on that front.
But of equal importance is how the Milwaukee Bucks go about giving their roster the facelift they need in order to compete for next year’s NBA title.
That obviously comes with Antetokounmpo in mind and likewise, the 25-year-old waits with bated breath with the potential moves Bucks general manager Jon Horst may have lined up once the transaction moratorium lifts.
With ownership’s willingness to spend into the luxury tax and Antetokounmpo vying for creative tweaks to reach his and the team’s ultimate goal, it seems as though change will be coming to the Bucks’ roster. How foundational those changes may be remains to be seen, but Eric Bledsoe certainly stands out for an obvious trade candidate and that is the consensus around league circles.
At this point, though, as details continue to emerge about the league’s plans to start next season in less than eight weeks, is the timing in which the Bucks have to search and implement any and all changes they make, whether via trade, the draft or free agency.
The Bucks’ latest disappointing playoff finish illuminated their most outstanding flaws from a roster construction standpoint. Trying to shore up their current deficiencies as well as fill the open spots on their roster are paramount with literally the future of the franchise at stake.
But for a team that has long preached the value of continuity and following a linear trajectory towards building up a championship-caliber team, the Bucks are faced with a challenge that lies in direct opposition to that line of thinking. Add on the challenges that are coming down the pipe with this current timeline and the stakes for this Bucks offseason have grown immensely higher.
To be clear, the start of next season being this close compared to what was being thrown out there shouldn’t dissuade the Bucks under any circumstances in making the necessary upgrades they need to contend. The Bucks can’t afford to leave any stone unturned in being able to sway Antetokounmpo to stay long-term in Milwaukee, all of which will be made best by winning an NBA championship.
Next. 3 potential threats to sign Kyle Korver in free agency. dark
But the timing of trying to answer these big questions that will shape their future couldn’t have worked out poorer for the Bucks across any way you look at it. Now with the season potentially coming far sooner than what was originally anticipated, they’ll have to live with how any changes will affect their chemistry from the jump.