2025-26 Milwaukee Bucks / NBA Thread

[sveumrules]

13 hours ago, adambr2 said:

It seemed inexplicable to me that we could ever miss the playoffs with Giannis. I always assumed the 6 seed was pretty much the floor if the supporting cast was total garbage.

The current six seed Magic at 22 W - 18 L have a .550 W%.

The Bucks are 14 W - 12 L (.542 W%) when Giannis plays so right in that range.

If they miss the playoffs it will likely be because Giannis gets hurt again (3 W- 11 L record so far when he doesn't play). In the past when he missed games the drop off wasn't so stark because Middleton or Dame was still there to be the Alpha, but those guys got old and hurt which is why we're here to begin with.

The starting five of KPJ | Rollins | AJG | Giannis | Turner are at +15.1 points per 100 possessions in 160 minutes together on the floor now that they've all been healthy concurrently for a stretch. Bobby is still a fine sixth man as the only guy besides Giannis who can grab a rebound, plus create some offense for himself, not to mention the crazy eyes.

But yeah, spots seven through fourteen need an overhaul for sure (I'd say that's mostly on Horst) but maybe Jon can pull something interesting at the deadline between the 2031 First Round Pick and Kuzma plus whoever else is needed to match salaries.

[Joseph Zarr]

This literally all I have when it comes to the Milwaukee Bucks:

Well, that isn't quite all. I also had a Glenn Rivers inspired Haiku show up for me over early morning coffee:

Quote

I am in the Zone

Of Your Basketball wisdom

You give me Dead Legs

 

[jay87shot]

Kuzma and KPJ for Kuminga and a 1st (protected)

Porter is a free agent after the year and even though he is playing well I don't think he is a guy I would invest in long term. Kuminga gives us a young upside true SF that next to Giannis (with a better attitude after a trade) should be a huge add. I like Rollins/Green/Kuminga/Giannis/Turner better than the current 5 just based on matchups. It would also mean less playing time for Trent and Gary Harris, I don't see why Andre Jackson isn't getting some run over those guys it seems like the past couple years having him start or at least be in the rotation has been a positive as a spark plug (Rivers coaching gripes).

[adambr2]

3 hours ago, sveumrules said:

The current six seed Magic at 22 W - 18 L have a .550 W%.

The Bucks are 14 W - 12 L (.542 W%) when Giannis plays so right in that range.

If they miss the playoffs it will likely be because Giannis gets hurt again (3 W- 11 L record so far when he doesn't play). In the past when he missed games the drop off wasn't so stark because Middleton or Dame was still there to be the Alpha, but those guys got old and hurt which is why we're here to begin with.

The starting five of KPJ | Rollins | AJG | Giannis | Turner are at +15.1 points per 100 possessions in 160 minutes together on the floor now that they've all been healthy concurrently for a stretch. Bobby is still a fine sixth man as the only guy besides Giannis who can grab a rebound, plus create some offense for himself, not to mention the crazy eyes.

But yeah, spots seven through fourteen need an overhaul for sure (I'd say that's mostly on Horst) but maybe Jon can pull something interesting at the deadline between the 2031 First Round Pick and Kuzma plus whoever else is needed to match salaries.

The last thing we should be thinking about doing right now is continuing to deal more future 1sts.

Since we finally may own our own 1st this year I’d be fine with just a light tank, who knows, take a shot at getting in the lottery, at least add a youth piece and try again next year, hopefully without Doc.

That seems like a better path to me than a desperation move to cling to low seed or PIT just to get bounced early.

[adambr2]

It’s tough to dispute any of these points.

[LouisEly]

Bucks fans: "We need to shake up the team.  This team isn't going to win a championship!!!"

(Bucks shake up team)

Bucks fans: "What a terrible GM the Bucks have!!  Look at all the terrible moves he's made!!!"

-Every year since 2022

[adambr2]

1 hour ago, LouisEly said:

Bucks fans: "We need to shake up the team.  This team isn't going to win a championship!!!"

(Bucks shake up team)

Bucks fans: "What a terrible GM the Bucks have!!  Look at all the terrible moves he's made!!!"

-Every year since 2022

I am not going to criticize him too bad for Dame, because I get the thought, but almost all of his intermediate moves, like Crowder and Ibaka, have been complete disasters. Anyone can shake up a roster. The idea for a competent GM is to improve it.

Also, no one was asking for Doc Rivers.

You don’t have one of the top 3 players in the world and still be in a spot with no playoffs, no cap flexibility and no future picks without completely mismanaging the team.

[CheezWizHed]

The coaching merry-go-round was a disaster... but I do wonder how much if it was Giannis?

And I get that the meme is meant to be hyperbolic, but we are 6th in the league for the lowest salary cap (only two teams are under the cap and thus have "cap space").  

But it does seem like every middling FA signing/vet trade flopped.  Lilliard getting hurt just put a nail in the coffin.  

[nate82]

The Bucks are trying to trade for Ja Morant but are unwilling to include Rollins in the deal.  The Bucks are also trying to get rid of Kuzma.

Morant has been injured and ineffective over since his second year.  While he is still young I am not sure this would be a good idea.  Not to mention Morant isn’t a good player to mix with Giannis offensively.  

[OldSchoolSnapper]

On 1/16/2026 at 5:45 PM, adambr2 said:

I am not going to criticize him too bad for Dame, because I get the thought, but almost all of his intermediate moves, like Crowder and Ibaka, have been complete disasters. Anyone can shake up a roster. The idea for a competent GM is to improve it.

Also, no one was asking for Doc Rivers.

You don’t have one of the top 3 players in the world and still be in a spot with no playoffs, no cap flexibility and no future picks without completely mismanaging the team.

The majority of the things he did can be kind of understood. At the time they seemed to make sense. The most egregious one though is firing Bud but trading for Dame months later. I guess we'll never know if it would have made a difference. I'd guess that it probably wouldn't, but he was clearly the best coach they've had recently and I would have liked to see him get a chance. 

But I kinda think the Bucks were doomed anyway. Too old when they won and too committed to Giannis's friends. The only real way to save this team in hindsight would have been trading assets for real value right after the championship or a year later. Unloading Middleton, Portis, Lopez to get younger and restock. It could have been done, but Giannis would have gone postal. 

 

[OldSchoolSnapper]

On 1/19/2026 at 12:13 PM, CheezWizHed said:

The coaching merry-go-round was a disaster... but I do wonder how much if it was Giannis?

And I get that the meme is meant to be hyperbolic, but we are 6th in the league for the lowest salary cap (only two teams are under the cap and thus have "cap space").  

But it does seem like every middling FA signing/vet trade flopped.  Lilliard getting hurt just put a nail in the coffin.  

Giannis being out may create the best possible scenario for the Bucks. His season should effectively be over if there's a single intelligent person left in the front office. Tank-a-thon and hope you retain your 1st rounder and then pray that it's a top pick. That's the only thing that could provide a potential immediate bailout. 

[young guns]

11 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Giannis being out may create the best possible scenario for the Bucks. His season should effectively be over if there's a single intelligent person left in the front office. Tank-a-thon and hope you retain your 1st rounder and then pray that it's a top pick. That's the only thing that could provide a potential immediate bailout. 

Had to check what our pick situation was for this year and it's a pick swap with New Orleans(owned by someone else).  Since New Orleans is bad this year, if we tank, we have a shot at having a good pick and if the balls bounce our way could hypothetically be as high as #2, but would require us and them to be 1 and 2 in any order.

[wallus]

Not saying Horst is a great GM but the amount of meddling by Giannis and ownership is high. My criticism is he should have pushed back but keeping your job appears to be priority number 1.

[Joseph Zarr]

Giannis out another 4-6 weeks. Bucks continue their Doctor Glenn inspired spiral downward. Bucks still rumored to be Buyers at the Deadline. Absolutely tracks. This organization has become a rudderless ship. For Giannis' sake, I hope he gets an opportunity elsewhere. The Bucks are an embarrassment.

[adambr2]

15 hours ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Giannis out another 4-6 weeks. Bucks continue their Doctor Glenn inspired spiral downward. Bucks still rumored to be Buyers at the Deadline. Absolutely tracks. This organization has become a rudderless ship. For Giannis' sake, I hope he gets an opportunity elsewhere. The Bucks are an embarrassment.

I can’t imagine any more Bucks move than trading our 2031 to try to cling to the play-in tournament.

How is this the only Wisconsin sports team in the modern era to win a championship? Because they’re by far the most poorly run.

[sveumrules]

20 hours ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Giannis being out may create the best possible scenario for the Bucks. His season should effectively be over if there's a single intelligent person left in the front office. Tank-a-thon and hope you retain your 1st rounder and then pray that it's a top pick. That's the only thing that could provide a potential immediate bailout. 

Yup. Bring him back for a few games at the end of the season to demonstrate his health for the offseason suitors.

Then blow it up. Horst/Rivers should be the first to go then bring in a new braintrust with some kind of vision to execute the Giannis trade and start over from less than scratch.

[young guns]

2 hours ago, adambr2 said:

I can’t imagine any more Bucks move than trading our 2031 to try to cling to the play-in tournament.

How is this the only Wisconsin sports team in the modern era to win a championship? Because they’re by far the most poorly run.

What's your definition of modern, because 15 years ago isn't ancient.  But your point about them being poorly run isn't wrong.

[adambr2]

1 hour ago, young guns said:

What's your definition of modern, because 15 years ago isn't ancient.  But your point about them being poorly run isn't wrong.

If the Packers even win their conference next year that will be 16 seasons between Super Bowl appearances. 

“Modern era” is obviously subjective. But for perspective, the current drought is longer than the Mike Holmgren to Mike McCarthy Super Bowl drought.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

3 hours ago, sveumrules said:

Yup. Bring him back for a few games at the end of the season to demonstrate his health for the offseason suitors.

Then blow it up. Horst/Rivers should be the first to go then bring in a new braintrust with some kind of vision to execute the Giannis trade and start over from less than scratch.

If you end up 2-4th overall, and actually nail the pick, you don't have to trade Giannis. They probably should, but hitting on that pick opens things up.

[GAME05]

Landing 2-4 would be the most amazing stroke of good fortune since drafting Giannis. Which of course the NBA would never let happen to increase the chance that Giannis goes to NY.

[adambr2]

Picking top 2-4 is a great dream but statistically highly unlikely to happen, since both us and New Orleans would have to hit the top 4 lottery spots.

New Orleans looks like a decent bet for top 4 but obviously no sure thing. We are much more of a long shot but in this case we would need both of us to win the draw.

We are I think 10th from the bottom in record. If we could slip to maybe 6th which is totally possible than we can at least assure a top 6-8 pick.

 

[nate82]

9 hours ago, adambr2 said:

We are I think 10th from the bottom in record. If we could slip to maybe 6th which is totally possible than we can at least assure a top 6-8 pick.

Right now the Bucks have the 8th worst record.  New Orleans, Sacramento, Brooklyn and Indiana are all far ahead of the Bucks.  For the 7-10 teams they are all within one game of each other.  Charlotte, Memphis and Milwaukee all have the same number of wins at 18.  Dallas has one more win and one more loss in that same group.

I think the Bucks have a real good chance at finishing somewhere in the 7-10 pick range.

The Bucks are also more than one player away from being a serious contender again.  There is no way they become a serious contender again with Giannis unless they somehow strike gold and get a #2 or #3 scorer in this upcoming draft.  I am not even sure that player exists right now.

[jay87shot]

Time to blow it up, as much as I hate doing it. Tonight the team looked pretty good on offense and still lost by 17. It will hurt to lose Giannis but this team is just not cohesive. By the time Giannis is back we will be way out of the playoffs picture. 

Giannis and Thanasis to Atl, Porzingis and Coffey to Miami, We get Ricasher, Okongwo, Rozier, Jakucionus, NO 1st from Atl, and 2 future 1sts

Atlanta pairs Giannis with Jalen Johnson, Alexander-Walker, Daniels, McCollum and some future cap space. They likely would need to add a big in a seperate deal. The Heat get Pozingis if he can get healthy for Jakucionis. They can have an elite front court rotation and Jak really isnt in the rotation. We get 3 young upside guys a top 5 pick and a couple more future picks.

Turner to Boston for Simons and and 2 future 1sts (maybe top 10 protected)

Boston possibly gets Tatum back at the end of the year and adds Turner to a team playing well in need of a big. We get cap relief over the couple years and more picks.

Kuminga and Heild for Kuzma and KPJ

The Warriors get KPJ to play with Curry in the backcourt and Hield offsets some of Kuzma's bad deal. We take a chance on Kuminga.

Portis and Trent to LA Lakers for Rui and 1st.

The Lakers need a bit of an edge Portis would help their front court alot. Again we get a later 1st and some cap relief for next year.

Rollins, Green, Ricasher, Kuminga, Okongwu with Jak, Heidi, 2 top 10 picks and some cash for a free agent sounds like a decent potential future especially with getting a collection of picks.

 

[nate82]

7 hours ago, jay87shot said:

Turner to Boston for Simons and and 2 future 1sts (maybe top 10 protected)

Turner doesn’t have that much value.  At best you are getting a second round pick.  No way you are getting a first round pick let alone two.  

 

7 hours ago, jay87shot said:

Kuminga and Heild for Kuzma and KPJ

I don’t see the Warriors giving up Hield in a trade and if they do it won’t be for KPJ.  At that point it wouldn’t be worth it for the Bucks.  

[adambr2]

Giannis likely leaving Milwaukee will be a sad day, but it would have been much worse had they not won a championship. No one can ever take that away from him or the 2021 Bucks.