1. This rebuild could take a while
Nobody expected the Milwaukee Bucks to contend for a championship this season. Some hoped they wouldn’t be this bad.
Through 10 games, Milwaukee sits alone at the bottom of the Eastern Conference at 1-9. As of Monday, only three other teams had just one win: the Chicago Bulls (1-8), Sacramento Kings (1-9) and Utah Jazz (1-9).
The underlying numbers offer little comfort. Milwaukee has been outscored by 13.9 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass, which translates to an expected win total of 12.4 over a full season. Yuck.
The usual consolation prize for this kind of misery—a premium draft pick—isn’t waiting at the end. Milwaukee has no first-round pick in 2027, and its 2028 first-rounder is subject to a swap.
2. Brayden Burries offers a reason to watch
Somewhere amid the wreckage, the Bucks appear to have found something in Brayden Burries.
It’s too early to declare victory on a draft pick, just as it’s too early to draw conclusions about fellow rookie Nate Ament. Still, Burries has looked like he belongs through his first 10 NBA games. For this team, that counts as good news.
He has started the last four games in place of Ryan Rollins and is averaging 10.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists. His outside shot needs work, but he’s finding ways to contribute while it catches up.
For a team searching for players who can be part of its next competitive roster, Burries has made an encouraging first impression.
3. Ryan Rollins has stumbled out of the gate
Rollins entered the season as one of Milwaukee’s more intriguing young players. Coming off a career year, he appeared ready for more responsibility.
So far, the results haven’t followed.
He’s shooting 33 percent from three and 36 percent from midrange. For a guard trying to establish himself in a larger role, those missed jumpers make everything harder.
After six games, Taylor Jenkins moved him out of the starting lineup. That’s an early setback, but isn’t a final verdict on his season.
The question now is how Rollins responds—and whether he can recapture the progress that made him such a promising piece entering the season.
4. The Myles Turner bet looks worse by the day
The Bucks waived and stretched Damian Lillard in 2025 to create the cap space necessary to sign Myles Turner. The logic centered on his fit alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Now Antetokounmpo is in Miami, and Milwaukee is left with the bill.
Turner has looked a step slow and uncomfortable, averaging 7.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists. His scoring average would be a career low.
He has also gone scoreless twice in 10 games—matching his total from the previous eight seasons combined.
The partnership that justified the signing is gone, and Turner’s play has done little to make the remaining commitment easier to stomach.
5. Kel’el Ware keeps showing the possibilities—and the problems
Turner’s struggles have created an opening for Kel’el Ware to establish himself. Ware has responded by being tantalizing one night and frustrating the next.
He’s averaging 8.6 points and 6.9 rebounds in 17.3 minutes, with foul trouble and lapses in focus and effort limiting his impact.
Then come the games that make you want to forget all of that.
Ware took it to Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers. He already has three double-doubles, scoring at least 16 points in each. The talent is obvious. So is the gap between what he can do and what Milwaukee can count on him to do.
The next step is giving the Bucks useful minutes on a nightly basis. That requires consistent attention to the less glamorous parts of playing center.
6. The free throws are still a problem
An offense ranked 28th cannot afford to waste trips to the free-throw line. Milwaukee is doing it anyway.
The Bucks are shooting 73.5 percent at the stripe, also ranking 28th. Antetokounmpo is gone, along with his much-discussed free-throw struggles, and the team still hasn’t improved its percentage.
7. The Bucks are embracing the three…
Jenkins has made one part of his offensive vision clear: Milwaukee is going to fire away.
According to Cleaning the Glass, just under 45 percent of the Bucks’ field-goal attempts come from behind the arc, the second-highest share in the league.
Jenkins wants his offense to attack the paint, force the defense to collapse and move the ball back outside to an open shooter. Six Bucks are averaging at least four three-point attempts per game.
That volume reflects a commitment to the approach. The next question is how consistently Milwaukee can create the kind of open, in-rhythm attempts that make it work.
8. …The three is not embracing them back
Taking threes is one thing. Making them remains a fairly important part of the arrangement.
Milwaukee is shooting just 33.4 percent from deep. Despite its heavy reliance on the shot, the team is tied for seventh in made threes per game.
Turner, Burries, Ware, Kasparas Jakucionis and Ousmane Dieng are all below 30 percent. That’s a lot of cold shooting to absorb at once.
Some of those percentages should improve, though Milwaukee can’t assume every struggling shooter will become a reliable one. The group includes young players still establishing what kind of NBA shooters they are.
For now, the Bucks have the shot distribution Jenkins wants. The production hasn’t caught up.
9. The trade decisions are coming
At some point, Milwaukee has to decide which players belong in its long-term plans and which can help replenish its supply of assets.
Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. are central to that discussion. Both are playing well, and both are approaching free agency after this season. If the Bucks don’t intend to keep them, their production could help generate trade interest.
Turner presents a different problem.
His current play makes it difficult to envision a strong return. If moving his contract requires attaching an asset, Milwaukee would have to weigh the relief against the cost of surrendering another piece of its future.
The Bucks have already spent enough tomorrow to solve yesterday’s problems. They need to be careful about doing it again.
10. The next 10 games offer chances—and more tests
There are opportunities for Milwaukee to improve its record over the next 10 games. Matchups with the Orlando Magic (2-7), Toronto Raptors (5-5) and Brooklyn Nets (2-8) offer possibilities, though a 1-9 team doesn’t get to circle anyone as an easy win.
The rest of the schedule is less inviting.
Milwaukee will face the defending champion New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers (10-2), Philadelphia 76ers (9-2) and Detroit Pistons (7-3).
There’s also a November 18 meeting with Antetokounmpo and the Miami Heat, one of the Bucks’ two nationally televised games this season.
That one will arrive with enough emotion on its own.
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