Keeping a superstar happy is no easy feat, and sometimes the biggest attempts can backfire.
Over the past few weeks, the Milwaukee Bucks have made some of the most surprising moves in the league. After losing in the first round for the third-straight season, the Bucks lost Brook Lopez in free agency but quickly replaced him with Myles Turner.
While the Turner addition was shocking, the Bucks’ decision to waive and stretch Damian Lillard was even more eye-catching. Of course, those moves were made in an attempt to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo happy with the direction of the franchise.
With the two-time MVP being in trade rumors all offseason, it appeared that the Bucks’ big move was enough to keep him happy. While that situation isn’t entirely resolved, the Bucks also might not have done much to actually get back into title contention.
In NBA.com’s recent Eastern Conference power ranking, John Schuhmann placed the Bucks at No. 6 in the East, which is his same ranking for the team in his last rankings before the offseason.
Despite making some loud moves, Schuhmann clearly doesn’t believe the Bucks made any moves that put them back into the championship contender tier. That makes sense, considering the Bucks effectively swapped Lillard and Lopez for Turner while adding some marginal role players.
Schuhmann still noted that the Bucks could be much better defensively without Lillard on the floor, but his offensive production might be too difficult to replace for that defensive bump to matter. In any case, the Bucks are set for one of the most important seasons in franchise history because it will likely determine if they have their star player beyond 2026.
