It was a busy summer for the Milwaukee Bucks. They finally ended the Giannis Antetokounmpo era and embraced the rebuild. They will begin the season without serious postseason aspirations for the first time in a decade.
But how well did the Bucks do in the first offseason of their rebuild? Let's take a look at everything they did and evaluate it.
Additions: Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel'el Ware, Kasparas Jakucionis (from MIA), Caris LeVert (from DET)
Departures: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis (to MIA), Gary Harris, Taurean Prince (to DET)
Drafted: Brayden Burries (No. 10), Nate Ament (No. 13)
Re-signed: Gary Trent Jr. (four-year, $64 million), Ousmane Dieng (three-year, $17.3 million), Pete Nance, Bogoljub Markovic (minimum deals)
Hired: Taylor Jenkins as their new head coach
The Bucks did an excellent job with the most important part of their offseason. They got an absolute haul from Miami in the Giannis trade. They got the No. 13 pick, which became Nate Ament, two more first-round picks, and a first-round pick swap, in addition to four capable rotation players. They were also able to offload the salary of Bobby Portis.
This was probably as good as the Bucks could have realistically expected to get from the Antetokounmpo trade.
Another great decision they made was drafting Brayden Burries with the tenth pick. He already looks like a home run pick and the potential steal of the draft.
In their only other trade, they acquired Caris LeVert and two second-round picks in exchange for Harris and Prince. This was an easy way for them to acquire future draft capital. It's difficult to imagine this will have significant on-court implications.
Now, on to the bad moves. This should start with Gary Trent Jr.'s new contract. Almost certainly the worst contract given out this summer, the Bucks will be paying $16 million per year to a player who played at a veteran's minimum level last season.
Ousmane Dieng's new deal is also hard to understand. Even though he showed some glimpses in the final stretch, it's not clear why the Bucks felt the need to give him a multi-year deal above the minimum.
The worst part of the Bucks' offseason, however, was the moves they didn't make. After trading Giannis, many expected that they would continue selling. Instead, the Bucks retained Myles Turner, AJ Green, and Kyle Kuzma. They seemingly didn't gauge the market for the players they acquired from Miami.
Trying to turn some of these veterans into future assets would have been a smart strategy. It would have also helped balance out the roster, which is incredibly deep in the backcourt but lacks quantity and quality in the frontcourt. There is a good chance that the Bucks will regret not moving on from Turner and Green, two players they could have certainly gotten a positive return for in the trade market.
All in all, this was a positive offseason for the Bucks. They helped themselves in a big way by trading Giannis for such a strong return. They hired a very good developmental coach in Taylor Jenkins, who has proven himself able to get the most out of his rosters in Memphis. Burries looks like a future star.
There were misses, to be sure, but they are less important than the biggest moves, which the Bucks nailed.
Grade: B
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