Since he was appointed general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks in the summer of 2017, Jon Horst has remained aggressive at every turn to improve the roster.
This offseason alone he added two highly decorative deals to his resume by facilitating a trade for Jrue Holiday and reaching an agreement with Giannis Antetokounmpo on a five-year supermax extension. The 2019 NBA Executive of the Year has committed to never settling with the construction of this roster, even throughout various points during the regular season.
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The first big bombshell this year came ahead of the trade deadline, where Horst took a swing at disgruntled defensive ace P.J. Tucker. With Milwaukee consistently enduring their struggles on that side of the basketball this season, going all-in to pursue the robust defender was another fantastic move made by Horst.
In the aftermath of that trade, the Bucks were left without a true backup point guard on the roster. That prompted the team to scour the market for a veteran floor general, and although there were a handful of options, the team rolled with Jeff Teague. It was a solid choice as Teague has been a nice addition to Milwaukee’s second unit to this point.
Just when it seemed like the team might be standing pat with their roster heading into the postseason, the team made a pair of moves late Tuesday night. The first was handing undrafted rookie Mamadi Diakite a standard multi-year deal after starting the season out on a two-way contract, as first reported by The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jim Owczarski. With a new two-way slot opened, the team reportedly agreed to a two-way deal with Justin Jackson to put the finishing touches on their roster.
Jon Horst has worked relentlessly to improve the Milwaukee Bucks’ roster this season
The Bucks have brought in a handful of new faces to this point, all of which bring something different to the table. Recently speaking to the media, Horst detailed to reporters his thoughts when pursuing certain players, along with how he envisioned them fitting in Milwaukee in their chase for a championship. You can watch the full clip on the team’s YouTube page in the link:
"“I think trade deadline and buyout market season for us is always about trying to evaluate what has worked and what hasn’t worked throughout the regular season up to it. P.J. Tucker was a target for us…We wanted to continue to give coach as many options and tools as possible to be flexible and to adjust and do things differently. P.J. is one of the best defenders in the league… He was a big focus for us, and a big get for us.And then for Jeff Teague, obviously in the P.J. Tucker deal being down a backup point guard, Jeff was the primary focus for us to go and get a backup point guard that could stabilize us in the second unit and make shots. Jeff has great size… I think for us, we could not be happier how we came out of the trade deadline and the buyout market in terms of how we’ve hopefully finished off this roster.”"
It is safe to say that both Tucker and Teague have made strong first impressions with the team as they have been able to fit with the rest of the roster seamlessly. These two will play key roles for the Bucks down the stretch and into the postseason, which is exactly why the team was so aggressive in targeting them.
The Bucks have spared no expense in the process of improving the roster over the past several months, and time will tell if it ultimately pays off. Despite their struggles, this is the best roster that Milwaukee has had in the Budenholzer era, and they will certainly make a run at a championship this season.