NBA fans are debating over where Giannis Antetokounmpo lands between Boston and Miami, but the Bucks are very clearly already thinking about what comes next, and the name surfacing in those conversations isn't a superstar. It's a 25-year-old Detroit center who plays like his life depends on it, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer in the latest dispatch of The Stein Line Substack (subscription required).
"Sources say that the Bucks, furthermore, are Stewart fans. And it certainly doesn't hurt that Stewart has two years left on his contract valued at $30 million ... including a team option for 2027-28. No wonder the 25-year-old is seen around the league as holding a positive value contract expected to attract multiple suitors," Fischer wrote.
The Bucks' interest in a player like Isaiah Stewart speaks volumes about where they see the rebuild going
The first thing that sticks out to this writer is that Stewart represents a different type of player than the Bucks have prioritized lately.
We all witnessed the Bucks lose the plot post-2021. No trade return alone is going to fix a locker room that lacked urgency and accountability for two straight seasons. Stewart is the kind of player who addresses that before the first practice of training camp even starts.
When Stewart played center, according to Cleaning the Glass, the Pistons gave up 112.6 points per 100 possessions, a defensive rating good for 8th in the league while putting Stewart in the 85th percentile.
Stewart is obviously no franchise-defining superstar like Antetokounmpo is, but what Stewart does is lay down an identity in the way the PJ Tucker did for the title-winning Bucks roster in 2021. Around league circles, it's widely understood that his passion and tenacity for the game, especially on the defensive end, are second to none. And those were things that were sorely lacking in the Bucks locker room towards the tail end of the Giannis Antetokounmpo era.
Going for Stewart could mean that Milwaukee's rebuild is no longer just a roster construction effort -- it's an all-around demolition of the culture (or lack thereof) they've crafted for themselves through the years. Perhaps the Bucks may be rethinking what kind of team they want to be.
With or without the Greek Freak, it's time for the Milwaukee Bucks to go back to being dogs
For years, Milwaukee’s answer to every problem was talent. Add Dame. Add Turner. Add more offense. Add another name. Interest in Stewart suggests Milwaukee may finally believe identity and edge matter again as they move forward from the Greek Freak.
Of course, one would be remiss in overreading rumored interest in another player, but if this tells us anything, it's that the Bucks are pivoting by prioritizing toughness over talent. And even if Giannis remains on the roster for a few more days, perhaps the vision for the next iteration of the Bucks is already being drawn up.
Maybe he's their center of the future, and maybe he's not. But if the Bucks land someone like Stewart to set the tone in the locker room, that can only mean good things for the rebuild going forward.
The Giannis era ends with one question Milwaukee has to answer: who are we without him? Stewart isn't the full answer. But he might be the first sentence of one.
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