Subscribe
Follow Us
The 2025 offseason is possibly the most important summer in decades for the Milwaukee Bucks, who, after another first-round playoff exit, have a predicament with superstar centerpiece Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo, who the Bucks drafted in 2013, has been with the franchise through the highs and lows of the past 12 years, including a 15-67 rookie season, as well as the 2021 NBA Championship run. But since winning their first title in 50 years, it has been particularly disappointing for the Bucks, who have suffered from playoff shortcomings and numerous injuries over the past few years.
The latest blow was the torn Achilles sustained by Damian Lillard, whom the Bucks had traded for, sending out Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, and valuable draft capital in the process. With Lillard expected to miss the entirety of the 2025-26 season while carrying a $50 million-plus pricetag, Milwaukee also faced losing Antetokounmpo, who has been a perennial Most Valuable Player (MVP) candidate despite the postseason woes.
Some believed Antetokounmpo would ask out of Milwaukee in hopes of landing with a more legitimate championship contender, but the Bucks reportedly have different plans.
Article Continues Below
“It would be easy for the Bucks to put Antetokounmpo on the trade market, especially in light of Lillard's Achilles injury and consecutive losses in the first round. However, sources confirmed to ESPN that Milwaukee will be aggressively exploring options in free agency and trades to complement Antetokounmpo,” former NBA front-office exec Bobby Marks wrote.
Marks laid out possibilities in which the Bucks, who created some financial flexibility for themselves with the Kyle Kuzma-for-Khris Middleton trade, use the full non-taxpayer midlevel exception of $14.1 million on either Gary Trent Jr. or someone to replace Lillard next season. He also suggested that the Bucks might not re-sign Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis, or use one or both of them in a sign-and-trade this offseason.
While it would make sense for the Bucks to try to wring as much value out of Antetokounmpo in a trade this summer, they could be thinking, like many other teams certainly are, that the Eastern Conference is ripe for the taking next season. The Boston Celtics are expected to be without Jayson Tatum due to his own Achilles injury, and they are also likely to trade one or more of their core players this offseason. The New York Knicks may do the same after firing head coach Tom Thibodeau, while the Indiana Pacers could face challenges retaining their NBA Finals roster.
This past season, the Bucks finished fifth in the East with a 48-34 record before losing to the aforementioned Pacers in the first round of the playoffs.
