The Milwaukee Bucks could be in trouble in the near future.
Over the past few weeks, the Bucks have changed their roster drastically. Most notably, they made arguably the most shocking move of the NBA offseason when they waived and stretched Damian Lillard to make room for Myles Turner in free agency.
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The waiving of Lillard marked the end of a two-year era in Milwaukee that was often filled with rough moments and lacked any significant success. Throughout his two years with the Bucks, they won a total of three playoff games, losing to the Indiana Pacers both times and never had a fully healthy star duo.
While Lillard’s waiving was surprising, the Bucks did so to ensure that Giannis Antetokounmpo could still feel comfortable about the team’s direction. However, the Bucks’ Lillard deal will only age worse from here.
Not only did most of Milwaukee’s assets from the 2023 deal end up in Portland, Lillard is now there, too. And one of the top assets from that deal is yet to convey.
In a recent article, Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley ranked the Bucks’ 2029 unprotected pick, which belongs to Portland, as one of the 10 best trade chips in the league. Considering that Antetokounmpo might force his way out by then, and the Bucks would presumably have no stars to make up for it, 2029 could mark some dark times in Milwaukee.
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Of course, it’s simply a great trade piece now because there is still the unknown working in Portland’s favor. Antetokounmpo might just stick around and keep that pick in the 20s, but if things go south for the Bucks, they might have dealt away a top pick.