What’s Next for the Bucks?

The Milwaukee Bucks enter the offseason with many questions surrounding the team’s future and has fans asking what’s next.

For the third consecutive season, Milwaukee has exited in the first round of the playoffs. This time around, they fell to the Indiana Pacers in 5 games. A postgame scuffle between the teams summed up what kind of season it was for the Bucks.

The Bucks are 4 years removed from their championship in 2021, but a lot has changed since then. Key contributors to that championship run such as Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday are no longer on the team. The Bucks also fired head coach Mike Budenholzer in 2023 after a first-round loss to the Miami Heat.

Is Rivers the guy?

After Budenholzer, the Bucks hired Adrian Griffin as their head coach. Griffin helped the Bucks to a 30-13 record, but was fired just a few months after the season started.

Doc Rivers replaced Griffin. This was a controversial move, as Rivers has faced much scrutiny from fans and the media due to his failures as the head coach of the LA Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers in the last decade.

In Milwaukee’s Game 5 loss to the Pacers, the Bucks blew a 7-point lead with 40 seconds left in overtime. Fans were quick to blame Rivers, as his teams have a history of squandering leads.

With yet another first-round exit on Rivers’ resume, Milwaukee’s front office will need to ask themselves if Rivers is capable of leading this team over the hump or if another change at head coach is needed.

Uncertainty of Lillard’s future

When Milwaukee traded for Damian Lillard to pair him up with Giannis Antetokounmpo, many saw them as a championship caliber duo. While the Bucks have been first-round exits since Lillard’s arrival, they haven’t had a fair shot because of injury.

Lillard suffered a torn Achilles in Game 4 against Indiana, ending his season. This also puts his 2025-26 season in jeopardy. Not only will Milwaukee be missing their star point guard for the foreseeable future, but they also owe him $54.1 million for that season. Lillard also has a player option for the 2026-27 season.

An Achilles injury this late in Lillard’s career is costly. He is already 34 and it is unrealistic to expect him to come back as the same player.

Milwaukee gave up a lot of draft capital in trading for Lillard. They don’t have control of their own first-round draft pick until 2031.

Antetokounmpo on his way out?

With limited draft capital and huge contracts to their star players, Milwaukee has very little room to pivot and limited options to improve their roster.

This will undoubtedly be a problem for Antetokounmpo, as he has already expressed frustrations about not being able to win another championship. This has caused many to question his future with Milwaukee.

Antetokounmpo is still one of the league’s best players as he is still putting up MVP-like numbers. He is already 30 and the belief that the Bucks will be able to provide him with another championship caliber roster is looking grim. The former two-time MVP would not want to waste the rest of his prime years with a roster that is not up to par.

Milwaukee may have to accept that their days of competing for a championship are over and part ways with their franchise star.

If Milwaukee chooses to pull the trigger and trade Antetokounmpo, they may be able to recuperate all of the draft capital that they have lost over the years. Trading a franchise star is never easy, but it may be the reset that Milwaukee desperately needs.

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