From the moment he took over as general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks, Jon Horst has embraced a "win now, think about the rest later" mentality for the most part.
With a generational talent in Giannis Antetokounmpo, it's hard to argue with the approach. Players like the Greek Freak don't grow on trees, so maximizing the window with him in his prime has always been the main objective. During his lengthy tenure, Horst hasn't been timid about pushing all of his chips to the center of the table when it comes to a big move if he thinks it can help the team.
For the most part, Horst's moves made to complement Giannis have involved recognizable veterans. Players acquired mid-season like P.J. Tucker, Jae Crowder and Serge Ibaka, to name just a few, were always viewed as mercenaries who could help the team in the present but did not have any long-term ties to the team.
This season, it was clear Horst needed to switch up the formula. Relying on veterans to come in and help simply hadn't worked out since the title year in 2021. This team, among the oldest in the league, needed to get younger if they wanted to compete not just this season, but for the foreseeable future. Horst, understanding this, has changed his stance and made the proper moves.
Youth was pivotal in the Bucks' early-season turnaround
After a horrid start to the season, the Milwaukee Bucks turned things around when they started to rely on young pieces like Andre Jackson Jr. and AJ Green over veteran role players. While players such as Pat Connaughton and Delon Wright had potential, they never managed to find their footing, and it was largely due to how they fared when matched up with younger, faster players.
Having Jackson and Green eat Connaughton's minutes worked wonders for the Bucks on the wing, and it didn't take long for fellow youngster Ryan Rollins to snatch the backup floor general minutes from Delon Wright. These three, along with Gary Trent Jr., helped give the Milwaukee Bucks the shot in the arm they needed early this season.
Horst saw this formula was working and doubled down on it at the NBA Trade Deadline last month.
The Bucks went all-in on their approach to rely on youth
At the trade deadline, the Milwaukee Bucks got younger with moves for Kyle Kuzma, Jericho Sims and Kevin Porter Jr. The sample size is still small, but the trades are already clearly paying off in a major way. Above all else, dropping these three into the mix has strengthened Milwaukee's defense, which has catapulted up to one of the best in the NBA after the All-Star break.
The youth Milwaukee has added to this roster fits around Giannis and Damian Lillard because they bring complementary defense, athleticism and speed that makes their jobs much easier. It's been great to see young wings who can switch between every single position, bigs who can keep their matchup in front of them and players of all positions who can run in transition.
While the NBA is full of veterans who could have helped, the Bucks opting to change up their typical strategy and take a stab at young players is already showing great promise because they can simply do a lot of things that veterans cannot. This recent change shouldn't be temporary; it should be the way the Milwaukee Bucks operate moving forward.
The Bucks should continue stacking youth around their core stars
Milwaukee has youth under contract moving forward. Kyle Kuzma (29), AJ Green (25), Andre Jackson Jr. (23), Chris Livingston (21) and Tyler Smith (20) are all players under 30 who are under contract for next season. Kevin Porter Jr. (24) has a player option, so he sort of fits into that. Players like Trent (25), Sims (26) and Rollins (22) will hit free agency, but it would make sense if the Bucks tried to keep them.
Even beyond their standard roster players, the Bucks have a trio of compelling two-way players in recently-signed big man Pete Nance (25), Stanley Umude (25) and Jamaree Bouyea (25). The front office can also evaluate these players and potentially turn them into standard roster players, as they have done with AJ Green and Ryan Rollins.
These are all role players the Milwaukee Bucks can continue to develop while also competing for a title year after year. For a team that has had its share of draft misses over the years, it feels like they finally have some helpful youth in the mix, and they cannot let it go to waste. While veterans can be helpful additions, sometimes, teams just need some youth in the mix to spark something for them.
For the first time in a long time, the Milwaukee Bucks have some youth they can build on while they also compete, and that's an exciting thing.
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