The Bucks were desperate to extend the Giannis Antetokounmpo era and bring home another title. Bold moves were made both on the roster and in the coaching staff, but now, that desperation is actually preventing them from fully embracing this new era they are heading into.
Bucks' past hurting their present and future
There are multiple moves the Bucks made in their past few seasons that are still haunting them. The biggest was to trade for Damian Lillard. Numerous reasons prevented the Bucks from reaching their full potential during his tenure, but I think most fans would redo that trade again and again.
Milwaukee is still paying around $20 million per season through 2029-30 following the decision to stretch and waive his deal.
That move was made in order to bring Myles Turner in on a four-year, $108 million deal. A disastrous start to the season for the center currently sees him averaging a career low in points, field goal percentage, and 3-point percentage. Khris Middleton was a brilliant partner for Giannis but was traded for Kyle Kuzma to open up cap flexibility. A mixed start sees him averaging career lows in points and 3-point percentage.
Gary Trent Jr.'s four-year, $64 million contract extension this summer is still under review by the NBA for potential cap circumvention, with the guard having had a down year last season and playing only 13 minutes so far this season. That's a lot of money for a player not to play, and it will be incredibly difficult to move. Did the Bucks promise him that money beforehand to try and keep around a solid role player in the Giannis era? That's what the NBA is looking into.
The Bucks are also still on the hook for Doc Rivers' deal after parting with him last offseason. They brought him in after deciding Adrian Griffin wasn't the right man to help this team contend.
All these big moves have been made to try to keep the Giannis era going. They are still hindering them now and preventing them from fully transitioning into the new era.
Bucks' future needs to be initiated sooner rather than later
Brayden Burries has been a big standout for the Bucks so far as the rookie has fought his way into the starting lineup, with a 21-point and 11-rebound performance against the Raptors staking his claim to keep Ryan Rollins on the bench.
Nate Ament has shown flashes of what he can do as a wing and has firmly pushed Ousmane Dieng out of the rotation for the time being. Kel'el Ware is averaging 9.6 points and 7.7 rebounds off the bench, albeit very inconsistently, but with Turner and Kuzma's sluggish starts, they may find themselves coming off the bench soon.
Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. have both been very good to start the season and have contributed to a large portion of the Bucks' scoring. Both players will certainly be in the starting lineup for the foreseeable future. Taylor Jenkins will just have a decision to make on the rest of the rotation, as most nights 11 players are playing meaningful minutes, and it's not really benefiting anyone right now.
Who knows what players could be on the roster at the end of the season, as the Bucks will certainly have teams calling about a few players, and they will be hoping to offload those expensive veteran contracts. For now, their past desperation to keep Giannis around is actually preventing them from fully embracing the youth.
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