Milwaukee Bucks: Grading Jon Horst’s eventful tenure as general manager

All in all, I think you have to say Jon Horst has had a pretty successful tenure as Bucks general manager.

I would be remiss, however, if I didn’t mention the Bogdan Bogdanovic debacle last offseason. It was something that looked very embarrassing for the Bucks after they thought they’d acquired another impact player along with Holiday, but the deal fell apart due to a number of issues. It’s probably the biggest stain on Horst’s record as general manager.

Obviously, there are some misses in both free agency and in trades, but I’d say the hits have outweighed the misses for the most part. My biggest criticism is that he hasn’t had many hits in the draft, which in part comes from not having the capital to do so due to his many trades.

Additionally, the lack of young, controllable players is concerning, but they’ve done well to add prime-age players in Portis and Allen to help minimize that.

We may look back on some of his recent trades, namely the Holiday deal, as one that could backfire with so many future draft picks involved. But at the end of the day, it brought a championship to the organization.  That doesn’t mean we can ignore Horst’s mistakes, but it makes them easier to swallow. The process overall was there, and it led to the ultimate result.

I think this past offseason was Horst’s best. He had limited flexibility and arguably made the Bucks a better overall team by adding key depth pieces to their bench. Of course, this opinion could change by the middle of the season, but for now, this looks like his best work yet.

BTBP Final Grade: A-

Time will tell what else Horst has in store for the Bucks.