“I can’t believe this just happened!”
You either said it or you heard it, on a day you never thought would come—when the Bucks traded away a player we got to watch grow up, a player who became a multi-time All-Star and fixture in the community, and who helped Milwaukee raise its first championship banner as an organization in 50 years.
That day was February 5th, 2025, when the Bucks traded away Khris Middleton. Some fans could claim that the writing was on the wall, but I, for one, buried my head in the sands
of the second apron and never thought, injuries and all, they could trade away the franchise’s all-time greatest Robin to our all-time greatest Batman. I mourned the loss of our champion with what is probably a familiar pattern for most Wisconsinites who are grieving: shouting the lyrics of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” while nursing a High Life.
Afterward, I began bargaining with myself and the entire basketball world that Kyle Kuzma could help the Bucks chase one more ring so long as health was on our side. Through the blown Achilles, a waive-and-stretch, and countless Shams bombs that gave me heartburn, it was not until around the trade deadline this year that for me the reality sank in: the championship era was over. Looking back on it now, however, the real end of the era was February 5th, 2025. June 22nd, 2026, then, was a bittersweet day, marking a new beginning. Many outlets have extensively covered the bitter, so instead let’s focus on the sweet, and how that day came to mark the new beginning for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Growing up a Bucks fan and watching us move through the different eras of coaches and potential franchise faces, I can think of many times that felt exciting as a fan, especially the early years of Giannis and Khris that were first overshadowed by the sale and potential relocation. Once that passed, however, watching what Giannis and Khris were able to do was nothing short of exhilarating. Now that we are in the new halcyon days, I am looking at a roster and coaching staff that is full of positive questions and upside potential.
As a coach, Taylor Jenkins has a pedigree for building teams that push the pace, are defensive minded, and show a ton of grit. At their peak under Jenkins, the 2021–22 Grizzlies became the first team in the NBA’s recorded steals-and-blocks era to lead the league in rebounds, steals, and blocks in the same season. This hardworking, relentless, possession-hunting style feels like what he was referencing when in his opening press conference he talked about the team making Milwaukee proud. Of course, in his first year as a head coach with Memphis he had Ja Morant coming in as the second overall pick to headline the roster. The Bucks’ roster does not have Darryn Peterson incoming, but Jenkins still chose to come back to the NBA with the opportunities he saw on this roster, even without having Giannis (or Khris) around.
That could be because, in a player like Ryan Rollins, Jenkins knows he will have an incredibly intriguing young guard to work with. Nathan Marzion recently noted that since 1994 there have been just 10 players who, at age 23 or younger, notched a season with at least 17 PPG and 5 APG, while shooting a 55% eFG (with a minimum of 50 games played):
- Penny Hardaway
- Tony Parker
- Steph Curry
- Nikola Jokic
- Domantas Sabonis
- Bam Adebayo
- Luka Doncic
- Tyrese Haliburton
- Alperen Sengun
- Zion Williamson
Rollins became the 11th last season, and given his 27.1% assist percentage last year, he won’t need to take a drastic step forward to become one of the better two-way lead guards in the NBA. On the defensive front, Rollins ranked 10th overall in steals last season with 110 and 13th in steals per game for players with at least 2,000 minutes played last season. For good measure, Rollins also had one more block last season than Dyson Daniels, which speaks to his ability to effectively guard above his size. At 23, it is pretty safe to say he has likely not yet found his ceiling.
Alongside him, Rollins will get to work with Kel’el Ware as his five of the future, who brings something different to the role. Brook Lopez is a Bucks legend, but in his 469 games played for Milwaukee he averaged just 5.2 RPG. Last season, Myles Turner became the butt of many jokes while on his way to averaging 5.3 RPG. The Kryptonian is not merely unique for Bucks fans because he is another stretch big, but because he is an elite rebounder. Last season, his total rebound percentage was 21.1%, good for fourth overall just behind Victor Wembanyama, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Donovan Clingan, and was sixth in offensive rebounding rate at a clip of 13.1%. Prior to Jenkins’ time in Memphis, offensive rebounds were not as highly valued as other aspects of the game, and they were certainly a weak point for the Bucks last season, so getting a specialist on the offensive glass is definitely exciting. Rollins and Ware, therefore, are able to bring familiar ingredients to Jenkins’ recipe for success: extra possessions, rim pressure and protection, floor spacing, and a capable playmaker. It might not be same exact cake as in Memphis, but I am sure it will make for a sweet combination.
Now, this is not to say there is a clear path ahead, because there isn’t: we don’t know who will start around these two for the short or long term, and we likely still have some deals to be made this summer. But even so, there are plenty of other players worth getting very excited about. Going back to 2022 we have added a player selected in the first-round every year: Ousmane Dieng in 2022 (Ryan Rollins in the second round), then Jaime Jaquez Jr., Ware, Kasparas Jakucionis, and, of course Brayden Burries and Nate Ament in 2026. Together, these represent an impressive young cohort with the potential to be at least high-level role players. Overall that feels like a great way to speed-run a rebuild—oh, and we have that guy named after a Jack Harlow song returning home on his Herro’s journey. At what point would keeping him become a long term asset? Could he net a big return at the trade deadline? These are exciting questions to begin to wonder about and find answers for.
Finally, it is probably safe to assume that Jenkins did not take this job just to guide the team through a long, cumbersome rebuild. We all should maintain realistic expectations about the wins this year could yield, of course, but I also don’t see Jenkins spending half or more of his contracted years in Milwaukee wasting away outside of the play-in, either.
So, the question analysts seem to be asking now that the dust has settled is “Who are the Bucks after trading away Giannis?” Thankfully, that is an answer we already have: we are Milwaukee, a big small town where folks work hard and genuinely care about how their sports teams represent them. We want to play a hardworking, gritty style of basketball that does not lack effort. The product last year certainly did not pass the sniff test, but despite the future being unclear, through the beer goggles that were needed to get through last season, the future is certainly bright.
Blurry, but bright.
Of course, an essential component to that bright future is Brayden Burries. Let us know what you believe his ceiling is below:
