The Milwaukee Bucks have remained in win-now mode since the end of last season. While that is a good thing considering that it gives Giannis Antetokounmpo more motivation to remain in Milwaukee, the unfortunate reality is that the Bucks' efforts to build a championship contender may still fall short.
It's no secret at all that Giannis loves Milwaukee. He talks quite often about how much he enjoys the city, and about his desire to stay a Buck. We know that he looks up to some of the legends like Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan that remained with one team for their entire careers.
By everything that we can reasonably infer from the outside looking in, it seems to be a good bet that Antetokounmpo will remain with the Bucks for the rest of his career. And let's be honest about this — there's been what seems like a concerted effort over the years from major media outlets to try to force him out of Milwaukee and get him to New York or Los Angeles.
Frankly, it's annoying, not just for Bucks fans but for everyone who loves basketball. So please understand that that's not what this is. I'm not trying to say he should or would leave the city. But what I'm doing is looking at the current state of the team and trying to understand what might happen next.
The Bucks are obviously in win-now mode, but there's no guarantees
Milwaukee lost Damian Lillard during the playoffs to an Achilles injury, and then let him go from the roster in the offseason. That didn't stop them from doing their best to improve the rest of this group over the summer to further incentivize Giannis to stick around. They added Myles Turner in the frontcourt, and Cole Anthony in the backcourt.
In a wide-open Eastern Conference, it made the most sense for the Bucks to not feel like they could take a gap year, and instead go all-in on trying to get Antetokounmpo the best supporting cast possible. The problem here being that the current supporting cast is still currently lacking a little luster.
I don't think anyone, Bucks fans or otherwise, are honestly looking at this roster and thinking it's a championship-caliber one. Now, is Giannis still good enough that he could drag this group deep into the playoffs on his own? Very possibly. I honestly wouldn't put it past him.
But all I'm saying is that with these pieces here, we have to prepare for the possibility that Giannis may at least look around at other options if no more major additions are made. I don't think he should leave, but it's hard to blame him for considering all his options when the overall roster strength still isn't the greatest.