Bucks General Manager Jon Horst must make a decision that has been four years in coming. It is evident, trade, or let Giannis Antetokounmpo go. Another option is trade for someone that will bolster the squad when he returns from a left calf injury. Either way, the writing is on the wall to rebuild or entice Antetokounmpo to stay. He has an extension on his contract next season.
Ever since the 2021 NBA Championship, Horst has tinkered with the line-up, changed head coaches, and watched the resulting chaos. While his moves with player personnel have been bold and courageous in their sheer will, it has not worked out.
The saying is “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” In 1971, the Bucks stunned the basketball world by bringing the NBA Championship home to Milwaukee. The “Big O (Oscar Robertson) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (nee Lew Alcindor) led the charge. Management immediately began tinkering with the team and changed the chemistry.
In 1973, they tore through the NBA Midwest Division and Eastern Conference with a 60-22 record, only to fold in the first round of the playoffs. They did not get close again and were dismantled. Does this sound familiar? The 2021 championship and the current Bucks have suffered a similar route. They have exited in the first round of the playoffs for three consecutive years.
Looking for a Sidekick
Milwaukee presently has an 11-16 record, with a 10th seed in the NBA Eastern Conference for playoff contention, four games behind the Atlanta Hawks in the ninth slot. Potential trades are being bandied about to bring former Chicago Bull Zach Levine in a trade with the Sacramento Kings. The idea, again, is to have a sidekick for “The Big Guy.”
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The strategy has shown no production so far, with the Damian Lillard waiver, for salary considerations. He signed with the Portland Trailblazers, who also have Jrue Holiday, the player who was traded from the Bucks for him, in the first place. They brought in an erratic Kevin Porter Jr. for the role, and Kyle Kuzma in a swap that traded away a disappoining Khris Middleton. Ryan Rollins can be added to the mix, all with varying results because of injury or flat play.
Head coach Doc Rivers has been shaking his head too, never more so than Saturday’s disappointing loss to the Brooklyn Nets (7-18) by a 127-82 score. He said it was the worst loss in his career, defined by a lack of energy, where the Bucks only scored 11 points in the fourth quarter. Gary Trent Jr. led the Bucks with 20 points, but the team shot only 39% from the field.
Thursday’s game at home against the Boston Celtics was a different story, pulling from behind in the second half for a 116-101 win. Kuzma piled up 31 points, a season-high total, and Bobby Portis Jr. (27) added 5-6 from three-point range with 10 rebounds. Portis Jr. seems to love playing at home and puts his skills on display.
Missing Pieces
The Bucks are mired in a style of play, with missing pieces, that will not make a good run come playoff time, with or without Antetokounmpo. The time to see the elephants in the room is now, as common sense would dictate.
Hall of Fame member and media personality, Reggie Miller, said, “And if you’re Doc Rivers, and I know he’s said all the right things that Giannis has not come out and said he wants to be traded, but you just have to figure. Are we wasting this young man’s prime years here?”
Antetokounmpo, now 31, is still weeks away from returning. He has said repeatedly that he wants another championship ring, while putting up MVP numbers on a haphazard team. Regardless of what direction everything goes, management should be grateful and thankful for the loyalty of the real fans.
The Bucks play at the Fiserv forum on Thursday against the Toronto Raptors, before leaving on a five-game road trip, which will keep them out of town until the end of the month.