The Milwaukee Bucks have been busy this summer, shocking the NBA in an attempt to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee.
The team re-signed several key rotation players and is expected to add Cole Anthony after his buyout from the Memphis Grizzlies. However, the biggest shake-up came when they signed Myles Turner to a four-year, $108.9 million contract. To create the necessary cap space, the team waived and stretched the remaining $113 million on Damian Lillard’s contract over the next five years.
To stay relevant in the Eastern Conference, the Bucks took a massive swing — though they may have mortgaged their future in the process. Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report called the team’s efforts “desperate,” with Milwaukee frantically trying to keep its title window intact.
“Milwaukee further compromised its future to improve its present as much as possible,” Hughes wrote. “On one level, that’s admirable. If Giannis is staying, you go for it. On another level, continuing to put off a rebuild will only make the process longer and more difficult.”
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The Bucks have been eliminated in the first round in three consecutive postseasons, and rumors have swirled about Antetokounmpo’s future following their most recent exit at the hands of the Indiana Pacers.
While a trade involving the franchise cornerstone appears unlikely at the moment, those talks could become more realistic if the team’s retooling effort doesn’t deliver results during the 2025-26 campaign.
Milwaukee doesn’t own its first-round pick until the 2031 NBA Draft. If Antetokounmpo opts out of his contract ahead of the 2027-28 campaign and the team gets nothing in return, the Bucks could face a bleak and uncertain future.
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