Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Milwaukee Bucks begin a rebuild after trading Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat.
- Two lottery picks now anchor the roster but face steep developmental challenges in a weak surrounding lineup.
- The front office must prove it can nurture young talent while the team braces for a likely bottom-tier season.
The Milwaukee Bucks officially traded Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat around midnight on the eve of the NBA Draft, ending a months-long saga in the most predictable way possible. Giannis puts Miami back in the conversation next season, but for the Bucks, this is the beginning of a potentially long and arduous rebuild.
While Milwaukee did fine in the Giannis trade, it's not like the Bucks received any real foundational players. Tyler Herro is stopping by for a cup of coffee in his hometown. Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakučionis figure to top out as solid role players. Meanwhile, their first draft post-Giannis — with two lottery picks at their command — yielded Brayden Burries at No. 10 (+7) and Nate Ament at No. 13 (+13). The parentheses indicate where those prospects ranked on the FanSided big board relative to their actual draft slot.
Milwaukee Bucks projected starting lineup and rotation after drafting Brayden Burries, Nate Ament
Player | Position | Bench |
|---|---|---|
Ryan Rollins | PG | Kasparas Jakucionis |
Tyler Herro | SG | Brayden Burries |
Jaime Jaquez Jr. | SF | AJ Green |
Kyle Kuzma | PF | Nate Ament |
Myles Turner | C | Kel'el Ware |
Again, this was not a highly graded draft haul for the Bucks (at least in these parts). This front office does not have a strong track record of locating and developing young talent, although the Ousmane Dieng trade — and hopefully a subsequent new contract — proves that Milwaukee can deliver on some of its more ambitious projects.
The Bucks don't own their own first-round picks outright for the next four years, and it's hard to trust this front office to max out the value of those Miami picks, which probably won't land too high if Giannis is even remotely healthy.
Milwaukee currently projects as one of the worst teams in the NBA next season, point blank. The avenues to improvement are sparse and likely futile. That is another argument in favor of the Jaylen Brown package for Giannis, which the Bucks rejected.
Taylor Jenkins is a fine coach, and he has led undermanned teams to unexpected success in the past. But even if Herro sticks around and lives up to his prior All-Star billing, where's the help? Ryan Rollins broke out in a lost season, and he's the sort of slasher and defender who pairs well, in theory, next to Herro in the backcourt. But Myles Turner is on a steep decline and Kyle Kuzma is a total pumpkin. Jaquez Jr. was a great, funky in-between scorer and facilitator for Miami, but how he performs outside the Erik Spoelstra voodoo bubble is an open-ended question mark.
Jakučionis has intriguing size and feel at the point guard position, but he can't score inside the arc right now. AJ Green is a lights-out shooter, but that's basically all he's giving you. Burries can contribute straight away with his defense and spot-up scoring, but he always fell best cast as a connector and finisher on a more established roster; this is not the best context for him. Ament has fun potential, but he's a horrendous 2-point scorer who really struggles to operate with any sort of physicality or ball security in the middle of the floor. He is going to find scoring the basketball consistently and efficiently very challenging, especially since the Bucks aren't designed to feed him clean, easy looks.
I'd bet Burries is starting sooner than later in Milwaukee. Ament probably needs a bit more patience, but clearly the Bucks believe in him and are invested in his development. Whether that investment yields anything in the span of his rookie contract — and whether he's still viewed so centrally whenever the Bucks emerge from this rebuild — remains to be seen.
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