The calendar has turned to September. You know what that means, right?! Our offseason outlook series is back for the third-straight year!
Hot Hot Hoops senior writer Matt Hanifan will provide his take on the offseasons of all 30 teams for the next 30 days! We will be going in alphabetical order, beginning with the Eastern Conference. Today, we will look at the Milwaukee Bucks’ summer!
Previous offseason outlooks:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Boston Celtics
- Brooklyn Nets
- Charlotte Hornets
- Chicago Bulls
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Detroit Pistons
- Indiana Pacers
Evaluating the Milwaukee Bucks’ 2026 offseason:
Additions: Tyler Herro, Kasparas Jakucionis, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware, Caris LeVert
Subtractions: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Alex Antetokounmpo, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis, Gary Harris, Andre Jackson Jr., Taurean Prince
Re-signed: Gary Trent Jr.
Draft: Brayden Burries (No. 10 overall), Nate Ament (No. 13), Bogoljub Markovic (No. 47)
Hanifan’s outlook: The Bucks finally ripped the cord, trading Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat in a six-player, five-pick trade headlined by Tyler Herro and Kel’el Ware plus three first-round picks — one of which was already used (No. 13 overall) to select polarizing Tennessee wing Nate Ament in June’s draft.
Trading your franchise player is never easy. I don’t love the returning player package sans Jaquez and Jakucionis, although I do think those first-rounders could be quite valuable, even in a reformed lottery structure. They did extract nearly every one of the Heat’s remaining assets, which isn’t a bad thing. There’s a world where Herro’s value becomes rejuvenated as an expiring, or where at least one of Jakucionis, Jaquez or Ware blossoms into a star. But I don’t think the Bucks did a great job maximizing the two-time MVP’s trade value.
The Bucks did a good job in the draft, specifically with drafting Burries, one of my favorite prospects in this class. I wasn’t a fan of Ament, especially at 13. The Bucks’ draft history under general manager Jon Horst has been abominable, too.
The second-worst part of Milwaukee’s summer was the Gary Trent Jr. fiasco. The organization haphazardly gave Trent a four-year, $64 million deal after a horrific season. And it was so absurd that the NBA is now investigating the Bucks for it. (The punishment should just be the Bucks keeping it on their books…)
Grade: D
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This team has become sort of the antithesis of the Heat. They are doing a trust the process type transition while we are in the all chips on the table, must win now mode. I know it may seem exciting to look towards the Bucks future, but their next couple of years may be long ones, and not playoffs into the summer type long. More like long as in when is this interminable season going to be over long.
Milwaukee’s FO does not have the experience or brain trust other teams have demonstrated necessary to complete a successful rebuild (e.g., OKC, San Antonio, New York, Houston, Detroit, etc.). I can see them making several more trades for draft picks in the not too distant future and taking several years to complete the rebuilding “process.”
depends on draft position or good trades milw has had neither.