What’s next for Bucks? Why more moves are needed to appease Giannis Antetokounmpo even after Myles Turner deal

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks settled in a little pace with regard to the construction of the list. Every few years, he begins to apply a little pressure behind the scenes. Bucks, not wanting to lose it, take a large swing on the market or market for free agents. Satisfied, Antetokounmpo signs an extension of contract from there.

It happened in 2020, while Entertetokounmpo was a year from the free agency and half the league was walking the space to pursue it. The Bucks exchanged for Jrue Holiday, and he spread later. They won a championship in 2021. In 2023, it was the same story. Antetokounmpo became angry. He started making real noise to leave Milwaukee. The bucks exchanged against Damian Lillard, and he extended again.

This one did not go so well. The two have never reached the level they needed to compete for a championship, and health problems have eliminated them from the first round of the last two seasons. Lillard has torn his Achilles tendon. Antetokounmpo weighed its options. So, Tuesday, the bucks took a daring step to improve around antetokounmpo: they Except and stretched Lillard In order to create the hood space necessary to sign Myles Turner. Antetokounmpo and Turner would have liked to play together, and the Bucks did.

Winners and losers of Myles Turner Sign with Bucks: Damian Lillard, Pacers and any team who needs a center

Sam Quinn

There is a significant difference between the addition of Turner and the professions for Lillard and the holidays. Of course, Turner is not an All-Star as they were, but it is something else. Unlike 2020 and 2023, Antetokounmpo is not eligible for this offseason extension. The Bucks may have moved an imminent trade request, but they did not buy more official control of the team. The calendar here is therefore no different from what it was before the start of the free agency. If the bucks are indeed firmly against the triggering of a reconstruction in their own conditions and proactively exchange antetokounmpo, their objective therefore becomes clear: be good enough to obtain a signature of antetokounmpo the next offseason.

The addition of Turner is a start. There are very few centers in the NBA which can adapt comfortably alongside Antetokounmpo. Turner is one of them. Its ability to pull 3S will allow it to space the ground next to the MVP twice, and the two together should provide an imposing rim protection duo. This is essentially what the Bucks had with Brook Lopez for much of the career of Antetokounmpo, but with Lopez entering the playoffs as a free agent of 37 years, Milwaukee needed to find themselves younger. They did it.

But filling the Turner slit, alone, is not enough. After all, at their best, the Bucks also had stars in the rear area (first vacation, then Lillard) and Small Forward (Khris Middleton before his injuries). Milwaukee has none of these things right now. Outside a trio before antetokounmpo, Turner and the Bobby Portis Re-Sye, the Milwaukee list is full of questions. Do bucks have a guard who can still mark? The re-signature of Gary Trent Jr. and Kevin Porter Jr. help on this front, but they are bench players at this stage. What about the defense of the point of attack? Again, there is a low -end response here in Andre Jackson Jr., but they must probably do better to participate in an even lower oriental conference.

They still have tokens with which to work with, but not much. Their first round choices in 2031 and 2032 are not burdened. You can be exchanged squarely. The other can be processed via exchange rights. These asset projects have more power than you think. What is the quality of the bucks in half a decennia even if they never have to exchange antetokounmpo? His style of play, highly dependent on athletics, is unlikely to age particularly well. They could reasonably do well on the commercial market with these choices on the table, and given the pressure that Entertetokounmpo probably applies, it would be difficult to justify at least not to try to use them to improve.

The corresponding salary will be a greater problem. This is what happens when you give up a $ 50 million player. Their only substantial negotiable salary at the moment is Kyle Kuzma, which is due to $ 22.4 million this year and $ 20.3 million next year. Kuzma did not really cut herself with glory during his brief male period, but he was a starting player in the past.

Boston caught Anfernee Simons in his recent Jrue vacation trade. The Celtics are also currently without a center and have very little flexibility to add one as currently built. Could Milwaukee save money in an exchange of Kuzma for Simons, which earns $ 27.7 million, to help them potentially re-sign Al Horford? The Celtics would probably like the capital project to take the Kuzma contract. Would the choice are too much, but would the Bucks think of an exchange?

Portis is a favorite of fans. Unfortunately, it is also a luxury, at least in the context of this list. A second big man would have been pleasant to have, but his planned salary of $ 13.6 million could be better used elsewhere. It will not be negotiable only on December 15, but he would be a main candidate to move during the season in exchange for a more perimeter defense. Maybe there is something involving the lakers au-Besoin and the Jarred Vanderbilt, although he is a worst player than Portis. The same goes for Matisse Thybulle with the Trail Blazers. If Milwaukee wanted to make a major swing, they hunted the wings of Pelicans Herb Jones, who is not only an elite defender, but can mainly cover any position. He had certainly cost an unprotected and portis first -round choice. Even it may not be enough.

Almost everything should be on the table. Fortunately, the Milwaukee front office is not lacking in creativity. Jon Horst released Turner from the slim air on Tuesday. He did the same with Lillard two years ago. It is a front office that has proven to be able to make surprising improvements, and even if they are limited in the way they can continue to add to this list, they will examine anything at a plausible distance.

They will have to do it, because Turner alone will probably not be enough to raise this team to serious victories. In most sports books, even after the addition of Turner, Milwaukee is considered to be about a game team. Antetokounmpo wants championships, and without the promise of Lillard finally back, there is no other obvious star in the building. Without the means of obtaining one, they will have to nail all the other movements they make to convince him to sign this extension to the following off -season.