The Milwaukee Bucks were one of the more disappointing teams in the NBA last season. Even though they have Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo on their roster, as well as quality role players like Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, they failed to win 50 games, fired their rookie head coach midseason, and were eliminated in the first round of the NBA Playoffs again.
This offseason, the Bucks were rumored to be interested in trading multiple players in an effort to improve the roster. Middleton, Lopez, Bobby Portis, and Pat Connaughton were the most common names mentioned in trade rumors involving the Bucks.
Instead, Milwaukee kept their veterans still under contract and signed Taurean Prince, Delon Wright, and Gary Trent Jr. to veteran minimum deals in free agency.
In theory, the Bucks should already have had the proper roster resources to get back to and win the NBA Finals. Giannis and Lillard were both All-Star starters last season and each is a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. Middleton is a three-time All-Star himself and Lopez was a Defensive Player of the Year finalist in 2022-23. Portis has finished in the top three of Sixth Man of the Year voting in two consecutive seasons.
Unfortunately, it has not been enough. The role players that the Bucks have surrounded their stars with have not measured up to the expectations set for them. Malik Beasley may have nearly set the team record for three-pointers in a season last year, but his defense was so atrocious he often had to be benched late in games.
Perhaps the biggest contributor, though, to the Bucks’ two consecutive first round losses has been health. Last postseason, the Bucks were without Giannis for the entire series against the Indiana Pacers due to a Soleus strain. Lillard aggravated his Achilles injury and was nowhere close to 100% in the series.
In fact, the trio of Giannis, Lillard, and Middleton played just six games together after Doc Rivers took over as head coach.
While the Bucks are banking on their stars being healthy and their free agent additions being improvements over the players they lost, it does not seem like the NBA is really buying Milwaukee as a premier team anymore.